Some of the world’s biggest banks, asset managers and insurers are already preparing for life after Brexit and steering their European operations away from London to our capital. Paris is already home to four of the eight 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  global systemically important banks in the euro area, in addition to being number one in the region in insurance and asset management. Recent regulatory initiatives have made Paris even more dynamic. Capitalising on the reform of Negotiable European Commercial Paper (NEU CP) in 2016, a number of very innovative projects have been launched: for instance, the French telecoms company Orange and the fintech SETL have jointly set up a new central securities depository (CSD) called ID2S for the NEU CP market, using blockchain technology. Paris is also at the heart of cross-border initiatives, making the European financial market more integrated. The market exchange operator Euronext is continuing to expand its federal model and in November 2017 acquired the Irish Stock Exchange. The CSD Euroclear is also committed to fostering common infrastructures, and is even looking beyond Europe with partnerships in the United States with DTCC or in Asia thanks to Bond Connect. Building on this comprehensive financial ecosystem, Paris has also been one of the principal supporters of the renminbi’s move towards internationalisation. As of today, Paris is indeed the leading continental European centre for deposits and bond issuances in RMB.
Denis Beau: Financial markets - driving innovation and connectivity Opening remarks by Mr Denis Beau, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, at the Paris Financial Seminar, co-organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Paris Europlace, Hong Kong, 16 January 2019. * * * Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased to open this seminar jointly organised by Paris Europlace and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). A new year is usually the time when we regain confidence in the future and in our collective ability to prepare for it. ***  However there are many uncertainties weighing on the global economic outlook. In Europe, there are still many uncertainties about the outcome of Brexit negotiations and the vote over the withdrawal agreement. Caution requires that we all be prepared for a no-deal scenario. Public authorities and most importantly market participants have all prepared serious contingency plans to address and master the cliff-edge risks associated with such a no-deal scenario. As a result, we can expect that those risks will be appropriately managed, without financial stability implications, should such a scenario occur. Outside Europe, global trade tensions are also generating additional uncertainties. Protectionism can indeed be a temptation, but in my view it should not be an option. Let’s be clear: our economies are increasingly integrated, and research conducted at the Banque de France suggests that a rise in protectionism on a large scale (i.e. a generalised trade war scenario) would have a negative impact on global growth.