Britain financiers receive Brexit warning

A FORMER Prime Minister of Latvia and now European Commissioner with responsibility for financial stability has confirmed that Britain has the opportunity to have access to the EU through a special dispensation for banks and brokers.

This will be the same system of ‘equivalence’ as enjoyed by Singapore, the USA and some 40 other countries around the world but Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has warned that the EU will be keeping an eye on the UK after Brexit as if there is any sign of deregulation, then the option could be withdrawn.

Britain had hoped to have a permanent deal to allow financial access but this was rejected in the Brexit negotiations and therefore currently only this temporary measure appears to be likely to be available in the short term at least.

In the past year, a number of countries including Canada have lost their ‘equivalence’ option, so this is a genuine warning from the European Commissioner.