LONDON, Nov 8 Reuters - The Bank of England will not "politicise" how it supervises foreign clearing houses with "tit-for - tat" responses to whatever the European Union decides, a senior BoE official said on Monday.
Christina Segal-Knowles, the BoE"s executive director for financial market infrastructure, set out in a public consultation paper how the central bank will supervise foreign clearing houses offering their services to customers in Britain.
Britain is waiting to see if the EU will allow investors in the bloc to continue using London-based clearing houses after the EU leaves their office after June, when temporary EU market access expires.
Market participants have urged the EU to spell out its intentions as soon as possible to avoid disruption because of Brussels pressure on banks to shift clearing from London to Frankfurt.
The bloc wants to reduce its reliance on the City of London following Brexit, as it tries to cut reliance on the City of London.
Segal-Knowles said Britain was very consistent in making sure there will be no cliff edge in access to Britain for foreign clearers.
Segal-Knowles told a event held by the Futures Industry Association that that will continue to be our approach. How Britain treats foreign clearers will be timely, smooth and predictable, she said.
She said that we want to make sure that it's done in a very technocratic and predictable way.
While there were nothing enshrined in UK rules that cross-border clearing house access must be in both directions, there is a need for Britain to have trusted relationship with the home authorities of a foreign clearing house, she said.
Relations between Britain and the EU have become strained over Northern Ireland and fishing rights, with Britain holding off from ratifying a new " forum" to discuss cross-border financial regulation almost a year since Britain left the bloc last December.