Will big British banks move to the United States? Not too long ago, people were debating whether London had displaced New York City as the financial capital of the world. The talk centered on the lackluster IPO market in the United States, compared with the then-thriving AIM market in London.

Now the talk has reversed, and people in London are wondering whether the top British banks ought to move to New York. A UBS report about Barclays and whether it should relocate has rekindled such chatter.

This has been an on-going issue in the aftermath of the financial crisis. It's fair to say that United Kingdom regulators have taken a harder line--on too big to fail, banker compensation and other issues--than their counterparts in other countries, including the United States. Banks in London have been demonized even worse than they have been here.

"Concern over 'too big to fail' dominates the U.K. regulatory agenda but rather than Barclays being too big, it may well be that the U.K. is too small," the UBS analysts wrote.

There's a lot of posturing going on. In the end, I would be very surprised to see any of the top banks--such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays--go ahead with their threat, but you never know. It may be possible to push these banks too hard.

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