Mizuho Financial Group Inc. CEO Yasuhiro Sato said the company could move its London-based securities unit to another city in Europe in the wake of a "heavy Brexit," with Luxembourg, Amsterdam and Dublin among those under consideration, Bloomberg News reported Jan. 20.

The Japanese bank employs 1,250 people in London, which hosts its largest branch in Europe, the report noted. UBS Group AG, HSBC Holdings Plc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are also among firms set to relocate thousands of jobs from London as fears about losing passporting rights after Brexit grow.

Sato reportedly told Bloomberg Television that passporting does not affect the group's banking business since it is a branch network, but that having a subsidiary for the securities operations called for certain action in light of a heavy Brexit, details of which he did not specify. He added that no decision had yet been made, although the group had been approached by many cities.

Meanwhile, Japanese rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., which does not have a subsidiary in continental Europe, is considering setting up a European unit to maintain business in view of Brexit, the report added.