Wednesday, 7 December 2022

City Faces Fresh Post-Brexit Blow as EU Moves to Restrict Certain Trades

THE GUARDIAN: Battle focuses on what EU sees as bloc’s over-reliance on London’s clearing houses handling euro-denominated derivatives

The City of London faces another post-Brexit blow to its dominance after the EU moved to require firms to settle more financial-risk reducing trades within the bloc.

The plan centres on trades in securities known as derivatives, and on financial market clearing houses, the intermediaries that enable the transfer of funds to sellers and financial products to buyers. Handling trillions of transactions each year, they are deemed an essential part of financial market plumbing that reduces risk.

Since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, the subject has become a battleground, as Brussels seeks to end what it sees as an over-reliance of European firms on London for euro-denominated derivatives trades. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Wednesday, December 7, 2022