£747bn a day business may move to EU

THE European Commission could this week outline plans to force a lucrative chunk of City business to move to the eurozone.

The commission has been looking at clearing houses, where banks officially book big derivatives trades with other financial institutions.

London is a huge clearing centre. The London Clearing House, part of the London Stock Exchange, clears €850billion (£747billion) of euro-denominated contracts a day, three-quarters of the global market.

The commission has tried to get all euro clearing moved to the eurozone, but was prevented by the European Court of Justice.

It has since outlined three options: to force contracts to move into the eurozone; to send regulators to oversee London clearing markets; or to simply accept that the UK’s regulators are as good as those within the euro area. A decision is expected on Tuesday.