Europe's largest clearing house is to slash the fees it charges for clearing UK stocks for the third time in just over a year as the clearing indsutry braces itself for increased competition next year.

LCH.Clearnet, the Anglo-French clearing house, has said it will cut the cost of clearing UK equities by a further 25% at the start of next year, a move that means it has cut the cost of clearing UK stocks by nearly half in the last 14 months.