What to Know
- Britain voted to leave the EU on Thursday
- Wall St firms are activating contingency plans
- Rank-and-file question the real impact on the United States
The rank and file on Wall Street can't understand how Britain got it so wrong.
“Brexit,” the UK's vote to leave the European Union, caused the Dow Jones industrial average to plummet 500 points Friday morning.
On the streets of New York Friday, those who make their living in high finance were baffled with the decision.
“It was probably a mistake to leave," said "Tom," an employee of RXR Realty who declined to give his last name. (Wall Street workers are typically wary of talking to press, particularly in the middle of a market crisis.)
A woman who works for a major European investment bank said she was "perplexed" with "mixed feelings."
The Manhattan-native "didn’t think it would really happen,” but her company had preparations so "it did not come out of the blue."
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"This will lead to additional exits and decimate the entire Council of the European Union," the 53-year-old woman said. A number of European populist leaders have already called for their own exit votes in the wake of the British decision.
Others warned of the effect on the global economy.
"Overall it’s bad," said San Ekan, 35, who works for the British investment bank Barclays.
A 25-year-old Deutsche Bank employee, Eric Liao, said Britain’s exit is "shocking” and is negative for Europe as a whole.
However, he is not sure how it will affect America.
"It has more to do with Europe than the United States because we’re not a part of that."
