ECB Raises Brexit Heat With Bid for Power Over Euro Clearing

  • London set to lose if clearing is forced to relocate to EU
  • Austria’s Kern says it makes sense to give ECB extra tools

ECB Bids for Power Over Euro Clearing

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The European Central Bank made a play for power over London’s lucrative clearing industry, cranking up the pressure on an issue that has become a flash point in the Brexit talks that began this week.

The Frankfurt-based ECB is pushing for a change to the European Union law that provides the legal basis for its monetary policy. It seeks “clear legal competence in the area of central clearing” of euro-denominated financial contracts, giving it more control over non-EU clearinghouses -- including those in the U.K. after Brexit -- that are deemed systemically important to the bloc’s financial markets.