German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz backed calls to relocate London's euro clearing business after the U.K. leaves the EU and suggested moving it to Frankfurt, the Financial Times reported.
In a speech at a June 8 Goldman Sachs conference in Frankfurt, Scholz said the center of euro derivatives clearing should be subjected to "strong regulation and supervision in full conformity with EU standards" in order to minimize threats to the bloc's financial stability, and that it must be possible to shift services and entities into the EU "if other measures do not sufficiently address risks," according to the report.
He also expressed his support for Deutsche Börse AG CEO Theodor Weimer's plans to turn Germany's financial capital into the region's new euro clearing center. Weimer is eyeing at least a quarter of London's market for clearing euro interest rate swaps by 2019, the FT noted.
Roughly 90% of the multitrillion-dollar euro clearing business is handled by London Stock Exchange Group PLC unit LCH Group Holdings Ltd., the FT noted.
In May, the European Parliament voted to strengthen plans requiring U.K. clearing houses to adapt EU rules and accept European supervision after Britain leaves the bloc.
