Ireland has raced ahead as the most popular destination for global financial institutions to establish their post-Brexit European bases, as the latest deadline for the U.K. to exit the European Union approaches.

About 34 companies, including Bank of America Corp., Barclays PLC, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Axa SA and Wells Fargo & Co., have selected or are considering Ireland as a center from which to conduct future EU businesses, making the country the clear favorite compared to other locations. This is up from 24 in March.

Germany is the next most popular destination with 22 companies having transferred operations, moved staff or obtained operating licenses in the country, such as Credit Suisse Group AG, Lloyds Banking Group PLC and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. Luxembourg, France and the Netherlands have attracted interest from 20, 18 and 15 companies, respectively.

Meanwhile financial technology firms Revolut Ltd. and Monese Ltd. have set up new entities in Lithuania and Portugal, respectively, to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc Oct. 31, but there could be a further postponement.