ECB, BOE and Fed heads cancel panel chat after Brexit vote

[SINTRA] The heads of the European Central Bank, Bank of England and US Federal Reserve have cancelled a panel discussion scheduled for Wednesday after Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

The Brexit vote has sent financial markets into a tailspin and investors have been awaiting a response by major central banks.

ECB President Mario Draghi, BOE governor Mark Carney and Fed Chair Janet Yellen were due to speak at an event organised by the ECB in Sintra, Portugal, which is due to start on Monday.

But Mr Draghi will now attend a European Council meeting in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, an ECB spokesperson said, where he is expected to brief European leaders about the impact of the Brexit vote on the euro zone's monetary union.

"Due to the fact that President Draghi needs to attend the European council, the decision was taken...to cancel the policy panel and therefore Carney and Yellen are not attending," an ECB spokesperson said on Monday.

Mr Draghi is still due to open the ECB's Forum on Central Banking on Monday night and deliver a speech Tuesday morning, before flying to Brussels.

The panel discussion with Ms Yellen and Mr Carney had been edited out of the event's programme earlier on Monday. The BOE's governor had cancelled his attendance over the weekend.

Central banks are ready to cooperate to support financial stability in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, the Bank for International Settlements said on Saturday, following a gathering of central bank executives in Switzerland.

REUTERS