With eight months until the UK exits the European Union in March 2019, the FCA has revealed it continues to plan for a range of scenarios.
Nausicaa Delfas, the FCA's executive director of international, said the regulator has had to prepare for all scenarios, including the possibility of a ‘no-deal’ or ‘hard’ Brexit in March 2019.
Speaking at a Bloomberg event today (19 July), Ms Delfas said across the FCA, together with colleagues from the Bank of England and the government, she has been working to develop a number of safeguards and contingencies, in the event of a hard Brexit, to ensure that "Day one works smoothly."
She said the government and the regulator have taken unilateral action to ensure financial services runs smoothly, regardless of whether a deal happens or not.
For example, to ensure continuity of the legal and regulatory framework post withdrawal, when EU law ceases to have effect in the UK, she said the FCA has undertaken significant work around the EU Withdrawal Act.
Existing EU legislation will be converted into UK law after March 2019, and UK laws which implement EU obligations will be preserved.
Ms Delfas said the aim is that, as far as possible, to ensure continuity and certainty, the same rules and laws will apply after exit day as they did the day before.
She said this includes passporting, which under the current rules means firms that currently trade across the EU will continue to be able to do so temporarily within the UK without having to seek authorisation under any new rules.
Ms Delfas said separate regulatory regimes post Brexit will not mean a "race to the bottom", with lower regulatory standards introduced in the UK than those in the EU in order to attract financial services businesses to the UK.
Ed Legget, who runs the £727m Artemis UK Select fund, said that despite the political uncertainty around Brexit, he has been buying shares focused on the UK domestic economy, as he feels the cheap valuations at which those trade when compared with other equities justifies taking the risk
David Scott, an adviser at the firm of Andrews Gwynne in Leeds, said he regards Brexit as a side show to more pressing concerns about the global economy.
david.thorpe@ft.com
