Don't worry too much about a Brexodus of City jobs, said the optimists. There are many cities competing to be an alternative hub for financial services in the EU. So none will build the critical mass needed to challenge London.

Well, the optimists were partly right. It is clear that the City spoils will be divided among many EU centres. The lost jobs will go not just to Frankfurt, but also to Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Milan and Madrid. So none will reach the scale to rival London's status as the financial centre of Europe.