France offers to register banks fleeing London in English

PARIS (Reuters) - French financial regulators offered on Wednesday to speed up the process of registering financial firms leaving London for France by handling their files in English.

The French government and regulators are eager to attract banks and other financial firms from London after Britain's EU exit vote, which could deprive them of access to continental markets.

France's ACPR financial regulator and AMF securities regulator said they would accept existing legal documents in English from firms already registered in other EU countries.

Not only would firms be spared the trouble of drafting new documents in French, but an English-speaking official would be put in charge of their file, the ACPR and AMF said in a joint statement.

The ACPR has also set up a special Brexit email address to handle inquiries. (brexit-acpr@acpr.banque-france.fr)

In July, the French government pledged to make its tax regime for expatriates the most favourable in Europe in a move also aimed at attracting finance jobs to Paris.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Richard Lough and Dominic Evans)