On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 00:09:51 +0000, Nightjar "cpb"@ wrote:

A financial sector that would almost certainly shift much of their
business to Frankfurt if the UK left the EU.

Why?

Under EU regulatory rules, banks from outside the EU that wish to sell
services to consumers must have a branch within the EU.

That isn't the same thing as shifting much of their business to
Frankfurt.

Not as long as London stays within the EU, although, if we left, they
might choose Paris instead of Frankfurt.

Unlikely, Paris is definitely an also-ran as a financial centre, compared
to London. Hell, most of the French living in London (London has the
fifth or sixth-biggest French population of any world city - including
all those in France) are here because they work in financial services.

After which, the branch in London is unlikely to be needed.

Because, after all, UKIP don't want barriers to trade with Europe, so
there would be absolutely no need for an extra-EU financial centre so
close to Frankfurt.