CLEARING BANK LAUNCH

A NEW institution set up to process payments has opened its doors.

Bank of London is only the second ‘clearing bank’ to launch in the UK in 250 years – to handle the ‘plumbing’ of the financial system, settling transactions between banks.

It was feared that Brexit would weaken London’s hold on this market but founder Anthony Watson said: ‘The UK created the industrial revolution. We’ve never been a member of the euro yet we clear 70pc of euros in the world.

‘Two and a half times more dollars flow through London than New York. London is the financial centre of the world.’