Our Top Ten Articles for Brexit

There has certainly been a lot of noise in this debate and one complaint we hear often from voters is the lack of facts and information - from all sides.

However, amongst all the chatter there have been some standout arguments, and a few fantastic speeches, so here is our Top Ten. Let us know what you think we have left out.

If you are still undecided, please follow any of the links below and see if that helps you make up your mind.

Fear not Brexit - Gavekal Research

By Charles Gave, Gavekal Research

The UK political class is all in a flutter as the latest European Union referendum polls show an apparent rising tide of support for “Leave”. Having orchestrated the great and good into warning of catastrophe should a Brexit materialize, it would seem that “project fear” is not cutting through. I tend to have strong political convictions and perhaps for this reason I have a lousy record of guesstimating election outcomes. Since the UK referendum debate started, I always felt that the Brits would vote to leave, so no one would be more surprised if I was for once proven right.

City's Euro clearing jobs at risk within the EU

Whilst the threat to move Euro clearing from London to Frankfurt might come under the heading of "usual scaremongering", it is realistic - but only if we stay in the EU.

The UK won its case against the ECB's last attempt to make clearing outside of the Eurozone unprofitable, but it did so on a technicality and the court went to great lengths to show the ECB how to fix that technicality. Once the ECB does as the EU Court suggests, it a can prevent the UK from acting a second time to save Euro clearing in London.

The ECB, however, can only use EU law against London if we remain in the EU. Once the UK is free of the shackles of EU law, the ECB's attempt to rule over us will be history.

Then we can continue to clear Euros just as we clear US Dollars.

Why fund managers are backing Brexit

The City needs to repeal and revise damaging overregulation and open its doors to global talent in order to stay ahead of competitors in New York and Asia. European financial markets will continue to be focused on the City post-Brexit and Britain will become a hedge against continued Euro turbulence for investors into Europe.

Six reasons why remaining in the EU will be bad for pensions

By Professor David Blake, Director, Pensions Institute, Cass Business School

There are at least six reasons why remaining in the EU will be bad for pensions:

Redistribution of UK Contribution to EU Budget Post-Brexit

By Kent Matthews, Economists for Brexit

Professor Stephen Hawking, the UK’s most distinguished scientist, along with many other science worthies, have argued in that increased funding from Europe has greatly benefited science in the UK and that leaving the EU would be a “disaster” for UK science. Similar letters of support for remaining in the EU have been written by various lobby groups quoting the funds they receive from the EU.

It is critical for all recipients of ‘EU funds’ to understand that the UK pays for all of this, not the EU!

The EU's Financial Transaction Tax will hurt the City.

As Europe’s, and arguable the world’s, leading centre for Financial Services, it is dismaying that at almost every opportunity the UK’s Financial Services industry is targeted by those EU states wishing to put a check on its influence. Many of these measures are ill-thought through and are political decisions not financial ones, whether they be short selling bans, bonus caps, and the huge amount of EU-sourced regulation which stifles innovation and competitiveness as opposed to enhancing it. Another such measure is the Financial Services Transaction Tax (FTT) whose implementation in some form looks more and more certain.

Read this if you are worried about the City after Brexit

The City will continue to enjoy access to the EU after Brexit thanks to a new provision in the upcoming MiFID2 regulations. Anyone thinking about relocating needs to read on...

MiFID2, which comes into effect on 1st January 2018, allows a financial institution outside of the EU to provide cross-border services into the EU. To do so they must register with ESMA, and to qualify for this their domestic regulations must be deemed "equivalent" to those of ESMA.

Why I will Vote Leave: Risk, Reward and Misinformation

We've asked our campaigners to share the reasons they have decided to Vote Leave...

The more informed I have become, the more alarmed I am about what remaining in the EU really means. The more I understand, the more I see how disingenuous the misinformation flow has been and how at risk the City really is. If you work here, I hope this assessment of the issues will bring more clarity.

Firstly, we all want the City to continue to prosper and thrive – not only for the people that depend on us, for ourselves, and for our employers, but also for something less tangible: namely, that the City is the heart of international finance, and the pulse of London.  

Why I will Vote Leave: The Risks of Staying within the EU

We've asked our campaigners to share the reasons they have decided to Vote Leave...

Nobody is talking about the risks of staying within the EU. Now is the time to do so.

As we are into the last month of the campaign, we must examine certain aspects which have not been focused on sufficiently so far. Much of the debate today has centred about the risks of leaving the European Union and there has been a lot of confusion in the minds of the public about the veracity and logic of the statements made by both sides of the debate. There are several things to consider.

Passporting, Equivalence and The City's Access to Europe Post-Brexit

One question we are often asked concerns the City's access to Europe after Brexit. Happily, the upcoming MIFIDII regulations provide a solution in the form of equivalence for what it terms ‘third country firms.’