New York and Frankfurt should rise as global currency trading hubs now that Britain has voted to leave the European Union, according to a survey of foreign exchange market professionals.
London has been the top forex trading hub with nearly 41 percent of the market share, or $2.2 trillion, and more than double New York's market share of about $1 trillion. That leadership soon could be eroded if the professional sentiment proves true, according to a survey from Chatsworth Communications.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said Brexit would negatively affect London's position as the world's largest currency trading center. Of those, 40 percent said New York should benefit. Frankfurt was the top expected beneficiary, with support from 71 percent of respondents, followed by Paris at 49 percent.
"There is no doubt that London's leading position as a $2.2 trillion hub for FX trading is now under threat," Chatsworth CEO Nick Murray-Leslie said in a statement Friday.
"London and the city in particular as a global financial capital, where the vast majority of currency trading is transacted, will be bracing itself as the rest of the EU takes stock of the result," he said. "Traders, investors and money managers can now expect a prolonged period of uncertainty — the number one bugbear for financial markets — as the UK takes a step into the unknown."
The survey was conducted between March 11 and April 4 of this year and covered more than 12,000 currency market professionals around the world based on their membership of the trade group for global currency market professionals, the ACI Financial Markets Association.