Proposal Targets London Finance -<br />By CHAD BRAY and JAMES KANTERMAY 4, 2017<br />European Union officials fired an opening salvo on Thursday in a “Brexit”-related dispute<br />that could threaten London’s status as the undisputed financial capital of Europe and affect hundreds of trillions of dollars’ worth of financial products.<br />The negotiations over the financial sector are particularly vital for London — the ability to serve Europe-based clients<br />from London in the so-called single market has been a main driver of growth for Britain’s financial industry.<br />In the course of a series of proposed technical changes, the European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation bloc, hinted<br />that it may seek a more centralized role in supervising the complex financial contracts known as derivatives when they are denominated in euros.<br />Those rules, if enacted, could force clearing houses for derivatives to be regulated by European authorities even after<br />Britain leaves the bloc, or to relocate part of their operations in order to avoid losing business to competitors.<br />Her speech followed, among other things, a report in The Financial Times<br />that European officials were preparing to ask for a payment of up to 100 billion euros, or about $109 billion, from London to cover its financial commitments as part of its exit.
