American International Group Inc. will consider establishing an operations center within the European Union if the U.K. votes to leave the political bloc, according to Chief Executive Officer Peter Hancock.
“If a Brexit occurs, I suspect we will need a hub that’s within the EU, and there are some excellent choices,” he said at a seminar in London on Wednesday, without specifying locations that the New York-based insurer has considered.
Growing worries that the U.K. will vote in favor of a Brexit have roiled financial markets. Four opinion polls on Monday put the “Leave” campaign ahead of “Remain” and Britain’s best-selling newspaper, The Sun, backed an out vote in next week’s referendum. Remaining within the EU is the best option for the U.K., Hancock said.
AIG Europe, which is based in London, had pretax profit of 408.5 million pounds ($580 million) last year, according to the company’s annual report.
(Bloomberg)
