By Huw Jones
LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog will
wait at least until a European Union summit this month before
deciding on its rules for trading EU-listed shares in London
from January.
Banks are seeking clarity on where they must execute
customer orders for EU-listed shares after Britain's Brexit
transition arrangements expire at the end of December.
Turquoise, Cboe Europe and Aquis Exchange are among the
platforms which offer one-stop trading both in shares listed in
Britain and from across the EU.
EU states this week discussed their so-called share trading
obligation (STO) which sets out where EU-based brokers must
trade EU-listed shares from January.
This would determine the extent to which the City of London
could be locked out as the EU builds "autonomy" in capital
markets after the departure of its biggest financial centre.
Although the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) welcomed
these talk, its head of international, Nausicaa Delfas, said on
Thursday that "equivalence" or full two-way share trading
access, would be the best solution and avoid any "overlaps".
A senior EU official said on Wednesday that Britain's
decision to diverge from some EU rules was making it harder to
assess access for its financial services.
The FCA will also have to set out its own policy on share
trading and banks fear being caught in the crosshairs if it
overlaps with the EU plans.
The watchdog is monitoring trade talks ahead of an EU summit
on October 15-16, and Delfas said the STO is the "remaining
issue" in the FCA's preparations for a full Brexit.
"We will set out our own approach to the STO ... before the
end of the year, including our expectations on how firms can
comply with the reciprocal requirements," Delfas told Reuters.
"It's important to maintain open markets and liquidity to
enable best execution," she added.
(Reporting by Huw Jones;
Editing by Alexander Smith)
