UK set for restricted financial markets access under equivalence

Draft Brexit deal

clock • 2 min read

UK asset managers and other financial services firms could face more restricted access to EU markets under the bloc's equivalence regime, following the agreement of a draft Brexit deal which does not make specific allowances for the sector.

EU membership allows for unrestricted access for financial services but the system of equivalence, which the EU extends to a number of countries it deems to have comparable regulatory regimes, only covers a limited range of market participation. Law firm Hogan Lovells estimates the regime only covers around a quarter of all EU cross-border financial services business. This would give UK financial firms the same level of access as large US and Japanese business, while at the same time tying UK companies in to many EU financial rules for year to come, according to Reuters. European m...

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