An influential member of the European Parliament has warned that, with a year to the day until the UK leaves the European Union, there remains a danger that Brexit could reverse the global cooperation that has been achieved during the past decade and lead back to local financial markets.
Speaking at this month’s AFME European Trading & Market Liquidity conference in London, Conservative MEP for Wales Kay Swinburne told traders it is incumbent upon market participants and trade bodies as much as regulators to protect cross-border cooperation in the wake of Brexit.
“No matter how bumpy the road ahead gets, we are going to have to rely upon the principles of trust and confidence to shape a positive agenda going forward,” says Swinburne.
“I really do fear that Brexit may end up having the opposite effect – rather than facing outwards and becoming more global, capital markets will be forced to become local once again.”
Concerns
London has long been the leading global centre for foreign-exchange trading – in the 2016 triennial survey by the Bank for International Settlements, the UK accounted for 37% of global FX trading, while the US accounted for only 20% – but legitimate concerns have been expressed that European trading will move to other centres after Brexit.