In World Economy News 10/04/2017
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble wants the European Banking Authority (EBA) to move to Frankfurt from London, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday, as Britain gears up to leave the European Union.
The EBA, whose 159 London employees write and coordinate banking rules across the bloc, needs to be relocated after Britain voted to quit the EU because EU agencies are all based in member states.
Frankfurt, Germany’s financial capital, already has many private banks, its main stock exchange, the German financial watchdog Bafin, the Bundesbank national bank and the European Central Bank.
This amounts to “a unique selling point compared to other financial centres”, the magazine cited a paper that Schaeuble has sent to his colleagues in the cabinet as saying.
A spokeswoman for Schaeuble confirmed the paper existed and said a cabinet committee on Brexit would discuss it next Wednesday. But she declined to comment on any details.
“Several attractive properties in a central location are available for immediate use in Frankfurt,” said the paper, which also pointed to advantageous transport connections and a skilled workforce in Frankfurt.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Michelle Martin and Gernot Heller; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
