London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 02, 2025

Amsterdam displaces London as Europe's top stocks centre after Brexit

Amsterdam displaces London as Europe's top stocks centre after Brexit

Amsterdam has displaced London as Europe's biggest share trading centre after Britain left the European Union's single market, and picked up a chunk of UK derivatives business along the way, according to data published on Thursday (11 February).

Stock exchanges in the Dutch capital traded €9.2 billion a day in January, compared to London’s €8.6 billion, according to the Cboe exchange, which operates in both cities.

This compares with an average of €17.5 billion traded daily in London during 2020, when Frankfurt was second with €5.9 billion and Amsterdam sixth at €2.6 billion, Cboe said.

The City of London had long warned of the consequences of leaving the EU single market without adequate provisions for trade in services, and notably finance, which accounted for more than 10% of UK tax receipts before Brexit.

The EU’s securities watchdog ESMA said on Thursday the shift of share trading from London to the bloc is permanent.

The EU has shown no sign of reversing its position that euro-denominated shares must be traded in the EU – whose internal market Britain left on 1 January.

The gap may narrow, however, as trading in Swiss shares resumed in Britain this month. It is averaging 250 million euros and is expected to build up towards over a billion euros a day – the level reached before trading of Swiss shares in London stopped in June 2019.

Separate data published on Thursday showed how chunks of trading in euro-denominated interest rate swaps have shifted from London, the world’s biggest swaps trading centre, to platforms in the EU and New York since January.

Platforms in Amsterdam, and to a much lesser extent Paris, accounted for a quarter of the euro rate swaps market in January, up from just 10% last July, IHS Markit said.

Over the same period, London’s share fell from just under 40% to just over 10%, with U.S. platforms doubling volumes to 20% of the total euro swaps market.

‘Progressive equivalence discussions’

As with shares, the swaps market has been fragmented by Brussels “obliging” EU-based firms to trade interest rate swaps and credit default swaps either on a platform inside the bloc, or in a non-EU country whose platforms have been approved for use, such as the United States.

London has not yet secured that “equivalence” because Brussels says it needs information about Britain’s intentions to diverge from EU rules.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said London had already supplied the necessary paperwork and was “one of the world’s most pre-eminent financial centres, with a strong regulatory system”, adding that fragmenting markets was in no one’s interests.

The EU’s financial services chief Mairead McGuinness said on Thursday the bloc will discuss equivalence with Britain “progressively” and take into account its intentions regarding rules on a case-by-case basis, but there “cannot be equivalence and wide divergence”.

One of her senior officials has said the three-way split between Britain, the EU and United States in swaps due to the EU “derivatives trading obligation” or DTO will not be reversed.

“For the foreseeable future, all three jurisdictions will have trading venues that offer all currencies in such volumes that keep the DTO in all currencies,” Tilman Lueder, head of securities markets at the EU executive, told a Bloomberg event.

“The three-way liquidity split is going to stabilise.”

The Bank for International Settlements says the gross market value of euro rate swaps in the first half of last year was the equivalent of $5.2 trillion.

Brussels had been clear that it wanted euro-denominated financial activity shifted from London to build up its own capital market and have direct supervision.

Over €6 billion in daily trading left London on 4 January for EU-based platforms.

The rise of Amsterdam, home to the world’s oldest stock exchange, had been well flagged as pan-European share platforms – Cboe and London Stock Exchange’s Turquoise in London – began preparing to open in the Amsterdam after Britain voted in 2016 to leave the EU.

The ICE exchange announced this week that trading in EU carbon emissions worth a billion euros daily will move from London to the Dutch city during the second quarter.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Education Secretary Announces Overhaul of Complaints System Amid Rising Parental Grievances
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Over Digital Services Tax
UK Government Softens Welfare Reform Plans Amid Labour Party Rebellion
Labour Faces Rebellion Over Disability Benefit Reforms Ahead of Key Vote
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Host Lavish Wedding in Venice Amid Protests
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
North Korea to Open New Beach Resort to Boost Tourism Economy
UK Labour Party Faces Internal Tensions Over Welfare Reforms
Andrew Cuomo Hints at Potential November Comeback Amid Democratic Primary Results
Curtis Sliwa Champions His Vision for New York City Amid Rising Crime Concerns
Federal Reserve Proposes Changes to Capital Rule Affecting Major Banks
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Media Over Iran Strike Coverage
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
Big Four Accounting Firms Fined in Exam Cheating Scandal
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
Australia's Star Casino Secures $195 Million Rescue Package Amid Challenges
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
×