After Brexit, the British government wants to become more attractive for the global financial sector with clear regulation. “We want to be more open, more competitive, more sustainable and more technologically advanced – that is our vision for the financial sector,” said the British Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak on Thursday in London. The country now has the freedom to do things differently and better than when it was in the European Union (EU).
“But I also assure you that the EU will never have a reason to reject Great Britain because of lax regulatory standards.” The access of British financial firms to the single market depends to a large extent on the EU recognizing that regulation on the island is comparable to its standards.
In order to lure companies to the financial center of London, among other things, the regulations for IPOs are to be revised and “inefficient requirements”, which the United Kingdom has adopted from the EU, are to be abolished, said the finance minister. This is about regulations in securities trading, according to which financial institutions are obliged to trade on certain platforms. In addition, he wants to abolish the so-called double volume limit, with which the restriction of securities trading via anonymous trading venues is regulated.
There could be changes in the insurance sector with a view to capital requirements. He also wants to create reporting obligations for companies about the effects their respective businesses have on the environment. “We want to reaffirm our position as the world’s best place for green finance,” said Sunak.
After leaving the EU, the British government will have to make bilateral agreements with all countries. Sunak is currently not hoping for a post-Brexit agreement with the EU for the financial and service sectors. “That did not take place,” said Sunak, according to Sky News, about a sought-after agreement on the mutual recognition of standards. Although they continue to work together on issues of global finance, they are confident partners, each with their own priorities.
However, Sunak wants to build closer ties to Switzerland. The trade agreement with the EU hardly contains any regulations on the financial sector. Since Brexit, around 7,500 finance jobs have migrated from London to continental European cities such as Paris, Luxembourg and Frankfurt.
