Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit banks, Brexit views, Brexit traders, National Grid, CMA

City banks have reportedly drawn up a list of demands for politicians if the UK leaves the EU today, calling for the slashing of red tape, open borders and a push to underpin the country’s status as a financial centre outside the EU. Confidential documents from TheCityUK lobby group show the group has a plan to mitigate the damage caused by a Brexit, and suggest it would be possible to promote a “relatively better long-term economic outlook for the UK” which would “promote financial stability” outside the European Union. - Daily Telegraph

City banks including UBS, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have written to clients telling them to prepare for disruption tomorrow once the EU referendum result is declared. The Bank of England is on high alert to intervene if markets freeze. The banks said that they couold not guarantee to “make a market” by acting as intermediaries between buyers and sellers. - The Times

Traders and brokers across the City of London are bracing themselves for an all-night vigil as the votes are counted in the Brexit referendum. Senior staff and traders at banks including Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been asked to stay overnight in the office while others are working in shifts between the UK market close on Thursday and its reopening on Friday morning. - FT

Britons gathering round the television to watch the results of Thursday’s referendum on EU membership are set to trigger the biggest spike in night-time electricity demand ever seen in the UK, according to National Grid. The company that runs Britain’s electricity network has told the Financial Times it is preparing for a huge surge in power usage as the country stays up to watch the results of the historic vote. - FT

The total cost of a two-year competition investigation into the British energy market could exceed £80 million, according to industry officials. The Competition and Markets Authority is set to publish its final 500-page report tomorrow, bringing a formal end to a detailed study of the energy market that began in June 2014. - The Times

The boss of Britain’s biggest airline has accused Heathrow of “ripping off” passengers with plans for a new runway when it could save billions of pounds by doubling the length of an existing one. Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways’ parent company, called for an extension to the airport’s northern runway — rather than a third runway costing almost £18 billion — saying that it was the only way to create extra capacity at Heathrow without vastly inflating costs for travellers and driving away airlines. - The Times

Britons are swapping the Dordogne for Dorset this summer because foreign travel has become too expensive since the pound’s Brexit-induced meltdown, according to the Bank of England. Weak sterling and fears about the heightened terror threat overseas have deterred holidaymakers from venturing abroad, the bank claimed in its monthly regional report. With more people choosing to stay in the country, domestic tour operators, attractions, restaurants and coffee bars have been doing a brisk trade, the Bank said. - The Times

The pensions lifeboat has requested that a second administrator be appointed to BHS amid inquiries into a complex web of ties between the former owners of the collapsed retailer. The Pension Protection Fund, the scheme that protects pensions when a company fails, is understood to have tabled a resolution at a scheduled meeting of creditors today for FRP Advisory to be appointed alongside Duff & Phelps. - The Times

Bunnings will arrive in the UK in October when the Australian DIY chain will convert the first of the Homebase stores it bought for £340m this year. The company has hired British retail veteran Archie Norman and fellow former Kingfisher executive Matt Tyson to sit on an advisory board for the venture. - Guardian

Amazon is quietly rooting out many of its Chinese traders who do not hold UK VAT numbers to try to protect itself from tax evasion inquiries later this year when new HMRC powers come into force, the Guardian has learned. The online retailer has been conducting a review of sellers’ VAT compliance in the UK. It is understood to have contacted many Chinese sellers, giving them until the end of the month to provide their VAT numbers. - Guardian

Volkswagen’s chief executive apologised to investors at the carmaker’s annual general meeting for “betraying” their trust with the emissions scandal, that wiped tens of billions of euros off the car company’s value late last year. Speaking in Hanover, Matthias Mueller told shareholders: “On behalf of the Volkswagen Group and everyone who works here, I apologise to you shareholders for your trust in Volkswagen being betrayed. - Daily Telegraph