The Bank of England has called for special arrangements to be made in order to protect the UK derivatives market when it leaves the European Union.

In today's statement from the central bank's Financial Policy Committee (FPC), the BoE said that it was essential to ensure the protection of the £20 trillion currently held in derivatives contracts between the UK and other EU country members.

Seeking to mitigate any likely risks of disruption to financial markets following Brexit, the FPC said it was assessing the derivatives situation, and "exploring actions" that could be taken where it believed that it might be too “complex and difficult” for financial firms to offset risks arising from the continuity of contracts between UK and EU27 counterparties, themselves.