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By William Schomberg and Guy Faulconbridge
LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - More than 100 executives fromBritain's financial services industry, including hedge fundmanagers Crispin Odey and Paul Marshall, have signed a letterbacking Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, the mainBrexit campaign group said on Friday.
In a letter released by the Vote Leave group ahead of a June23 referendum, the City bosses said getting out of the EU wouldhelp strengthen London's position as the only financial capitalto rival New York.
The investors said that while membership had been good forBritain and London since 1973, it no longer made sense as the EUhad failed to support innovation and was now tied to a euro zonewhich many signatories feared was doomed.
"There is scant evidence that the EU will foster or supportthe kind of innovation which is essential if Europeans are tocompete with the rest of the world," the signatories said.
"The EU is now shackled to the euro, a project doing damageto the social and economic fabric of member countries, includinghigh youth unemployment. Many of us worry that the eurozone'sproblems may prove insurmountable."
The list of signatories included Odey, a founding partner atOdey Asset Management, Marshall, chairman of Marshall Wace,Peter Hargreaves, a founder of investment firm HargreavesLansdown and Michael Geoghegan, a former CEO of bankHSBC.
Other signatories included Dominic Burke, group CEO atJardine Lloyd Thompson, Peter Cruddas, chief executiveat CMC Markets, and Luke Johnson, founder of Risk CapitalPartners. All 100 names were not supplied by Vote Leave.
The message that London would prosper after a British exitcontrasts with a host of warnings over recent months from U.S.investment banks, the Bank of England, the City of LondonCorporation and pro-EU British ministers that an exit wouldundermine London.
"LONDON CAN THRIVE"
Many financiers say a British exit would sap London of itswealth, hammer sterling, undermine the world's fifth largesteconomy and prompt some traders to move their business to otherfinancial centres such as New York and Singapore.
But the signatories of the Vote Leave letter said continuedEU membership was now a threat to London's prosperity.
"We worry that the EU's approach to regulation now poses agenuine threat to our financial services industry and to thecompetitiveness of the City of London," the letter said.
"Assuming good political leadership and an effectiveregulatory environment, we believe that the City is most likelyto strengthen its lead as the world's largest internationalfinancial centre, and continue to make a major contribution tothe UK economy and employment, outside the EU but with continuedaccess to its capital markets," the letter said.
Since British exchange controls were scrapped in 1979,London has thrived as a centre for everything from foreignexchange and bonds to derivatives and fund management, making itthe largest net exporter of financial services in the world.
"Far from the picture of doom and gloom painted by theGovernment, it is clear that the City of London would not onlyretain its pre-eminence as the world's most important financialcentre, but would also thrive after freeing herself from theEU's regulatory shackles," said Vote Leave boss Matthew Elliott. (Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Guy Faulconbridge andToby Chopra)
