LONDON will defend its share of foreign exchange trading once a single European currency comes into being, according to Ms Judith Mayhew, who became the new head of the Corporation of London yesterday.

"We must maintain our market share at all costs," Ms Mayhew, who was elected as chairman of the Corporation's policy and resources committee, said. The body is the local authority for London's traditional financial hub.

Ms Mayhew, a 48 year old New Zealander who has lived and worked in the City of London since 1976, said the Corporation faces three main challenges. She sees the first as the body's survival to make sure it continues to represent the views of the City.

Her second challenge is to ensure that "when the euro is introduced the City of London is the primary market (for it)" while the third is to ensure LIFFE, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, dominates the derivatives market for the European single currency.