EU Court rules for Britain against ECB on clearing houses

(ANSA) - Brussels, March 4 - The European Union's General Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of a British appeal against a European Central Bank (ECB) decision on the location of euro clearing houses.
    The ruling said that the ECB did not have the legal authority to dictate where clearing houses for the single currency should be located.
    "The ECB lacks the competence necessary to regulate the activity of securities clearing systems as its competence is limited to payment systems alone," the Luxembourg-based court said.
    The ruling was cheered by Britain, which is anxious to uphold the strength and reach of its financial centre. The ECB had argued that it was important to its oversight of the euro currency this be conducted within the eurozone.
    Britain, while a member of the European Union, retains its own currency and is not a part of the eurozone nor uses the euro.