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EU share trading flees London on first day after full BrexitBusiness rerouted to newly created European hubs and primary exchanges
For decades, London-based trading systems and big investment banks have been at the heart of cross-border share trading
London’s financial sector started to feel the full effects of Brexit on the first trading day of 2021 as EU share trading shifted away from the City to facilities in European capitals.Trading in equities such as Santander, Deutsche Bank and Total moved back to primary exchanges such as the Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges, according to early data from Refinitiv — an abrupt change for investors in London, who have grown accustomed to trading shares in Europe across borders without restrictions.Hubs for euro-denominated share trading in London, including Cboe Europe, Turquoise and Aquis Exchange, all rapidly shifted business to their new EU marketplaces set up late last year to cater for the end of the Brexit transition.“It’s a testament to years of hard work that everyone’s prepared and it’s all going very smoothly,” said Aquis.Cboe Europe said about 60 per cent of its total business was now in Amsterdam, compared with very little last year. Aquis said “virtually all” euro-denominated share trading had shifted to Paris overnight. Turquoise, controlled by London Stock Exchange Group, also saw most of its EU business transition to Amsterdam. Very little business had traded on the venues before the transition period ended.RecommendedFT SeriesFuture of the City Future of the City: how London’s reach will shrink after Brexit“All our systems are operating normally and, as expected, the majority of activity in EEA-symbols is now taking place on our Dutch venue, with activity across all our market segments,” said David Howson, president of Cboe Europe, referring to European Economic Area-based stocks.For decades, London-based trading systems and big investment banks have been at the heart of cross-border share trading, with up to 30 per cent of all EU shares traded across the continent passing through the City.But the UK’s trade deal with the EU largely omitted financial services. UK prime minister Boris Johnson admitted the agreement had failed to meet his ambitions on financial services. The EU had refused to recognise most of the UK’s regulatory systems as “equivalent” to their own, forcing all euro-denominated business to move back to the bloc.With financial services outside the UK-EU trade talks, share trading executives in London expected little from EU regulators and had been prepared for several years to trade as if the UK had left the EU with “no deal”.
For decades, London-based trading systems and big investment banks have been at the heart of cross-border share trading
London’s financial sector started to feel the full effects of Brexit on the first trading day of 2021 as EU share trading shifted away from the City to facilities in European capitals.Trading in equities such as Santander, Deutsche Bank and Total moved back to primary exchanges such as the Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges, according to early data from Refinitiv — an abrupt change for investors in London, who have grown accustomed to trading shares in Europe across borders without restrictions.Hubs for euro-denominated share trading in London, including Cboe Europe, Turquoise and Aquis Exchange, all rapidly shifted business to their new EU marketplaces set up late last year to cater for the end of the Brexit transition.“It’s a testament to years of hard work that everyone’s prepared and it’s all going very smoothly,” said Aquis.Cboe Europe said about 60 per cent of its total business was now in Amsterdam, compared with very little last year. Aquis said “virtually all” euro-denominated share trading had shifted to Paris overnight. Turquoise, controlled by London Stock Exchange Group, also saw most of its EU business transition to Amsterdam. Very little business had traded on the venues before the transition period ended.RecommendedFT SeriesFuture of the City Future of the City: how London’s reach will shrink after Brexit“All our systems are operating normally and, as expected, the majority of activity in EEA-symbols is now taking place on our Dutch venue, with activity across all our market segments,” said David Howson, president of Cboe Europe, referring to European Economic Area-based stocks.For decades, London-based trading systems and big investment banks have been at the heart of cross-border share trading, with up to 30 per cent of all EU shares traded across the continent passing through the City.But the UK’s trade deal with the EU largely omitted financial services. UK prime minister Boris Johnson admitted the agreement had failed to meet his ambitions on financial services. The EU had refused to recognise most of the UK’s regulatory systems as “equivalent” to their own, forcing all euro-denominated business to move back to the bloc.With financial services outside the UK-EU trade talks, share trading executives in London expected little from EU regulators and had been prepared for several years to trade as if the UK had left the EU with “no deal”.
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