HSBC Holdings said some of its largest clients have alreadyasked for their business to be routed through the bank's offices inmainland Europe and aren't waiting to see what Brexit deal the U.K.hammers out with the continent's trading bloc.

“A small number of our larger clients are asking us to book moreof their trade and foreign-exchange activity in their Frenchoperation through our Paris office than their U.K.” divisions, NoelQuinn, head of global commercial banking, said in an interview.Executives at multinational companies are “making plans to ensurethey can continue to trade irrespective of the outcome. They can'tafford to wait for a decision that may not emerge until two years'time.”

Global banks have started arranging for some British-basedoperations to move to new or expanded offices inside the EU afterBritish Prime Minister Theresa May triggered discussions to leavethe trading bloc. Privately, many executives at the world's biggestfirms say they're now assuming the result will be a “hard Brexit”— the loss of their right to sell servicesfreely around the region from the U.K. That means they have to putcontingency plans in place before the end of the two-yearnegotiation period.