EUROPEAN UNION officials have been accused of spreading lies about Britain and future relations after Brexit to lure international banks away from the City.
The Bank of England has reacted with fury over claims Brussels’ regulators have been using scaremongering tactics to persuade foreign banks to relocate their European headquarters by claiming post-Brexit there will be chaos in London. Sam Woods, a deputy at the Bank, claims “EU colleagues” have been presenting false and conflicting views to a “large foreign bank”. The BoE worker said the lender was inaccurately being told the British public be demanding “ever-tougher financial regulation” and focusing frustrations on City bankers after the UK quits the EU. In fact the City is expected to enjoy light touch legislation in comparison to the highly regulated EU, he said.
And Mr Woods confirmed the EU claim was the opposite of his own conversations with EU regulators after they expressed concerns over the UK implementing excessive bureaucracy.
Mr Woods said: “I met recently with the head of a large foreign bank, who was in London following a visit to the continent.
“He had been advised by some of our EU colleagues that with the departure of the UK from the EU, the British public would become alarmed at the size of the financial sector relative to the size of the economy and would therefore demand ever-tougher financial regulation in order to assuage their sense of unease.
“Thus it was put to him that it would be sensible for him to move more of his operations to Paris, Frankfurt or Dublin, where things would be easier.”
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