Since the UK voted to leave the EU on 23 June 2016, there has
been much speculation about the form of the future access
arrangements between the UK and the EU for financial institutions.
In a scenario where no new deal is done, an equivalence framework
would come into play, which has been established for institutions
that are in the investment business, reinsurance, fund management
and market infrastructure sectors. Firms established outside the EU
can have access to European investors and markets. Equivalence
regimes also assist for prospectuses, accounting standards and
capital rules. Many UK institutions may find they are able to
continue to access EU markets under the EU equivalence
framework.
In this client note, we consider the position of UK institutions
that wish to do cross-border business under equivalence regimes
established by proposed and recently published European
legislation, if the UK were to exit the EU fully.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.