The U.K. Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST) has officially kicked off the transition to a T+1 settlement cycle, with backing from the U.K. government, the Bank of England, and the U.K. regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The switch is set for October 11, 2027, marking a major operational shift for UK financial services firms. AST… Read More >>
75,000 London Jobs in Financial Services Could Exit with Brexit
As the Brexit negotiations stagnate, there is a concern that U.S. banks will trigger their contingency plans and move thousands of jobs out of London before any Brexit deal is struck. Speaking before peers on the House of Lords E.U. financial affairs sub-committee on November 1, Sam Woods, a deputy governor of the Bank of… Read More >>
U.K. & E.U. Look for Miracles in Brexit Talks
Views seem to differ on how much progress was made in the fourth round of the Brexit negotiations that took place last week. While David Davis, the U.K.’s Brexit secretary, described the talks as moving forward in a “decisive” manner, his counterpart, the European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier struck a much more cautious tone…. Read More >>
U.K.’s Brexit March Challenged by E.U. Demands
Although members of parliament (MPs) have been on summer recess, the U.K. government has been busy issuing a series of Brexit position papers on a range of subjects, including the customs union, standard checks on goods exports, the legal regulatory framework and data protection. The hope is that the position papers will help accelerate negotiations,… Read More >>
Election Clouds the Future for Theresa May & Brexit
For the second time within a year, U.K. voters went to the polls and produced a surprise result. Last June, it was Brexit and this time around it is a hung Parliament as the incumbent Tories missed the 326 mark that they needed to form a government. Despite calls for Prime Minister Theresa May to… Read More >>
U.K. Fund Managers Brace for Rollercoaster Year
While 2016 was full of ups and downs for the fund management industry in the U.K., this year will be equally as challenging, according to EY’s wealth and asset management industry outlook for 2017. Firms will not only have to contend with the uncertainties of Brexit but also the continuing roll call of regulation and… Read More >>
U.K. Court to Decide Brexit’s Next Chapter
The U.K. Supreme Court has set December 5 as the day to hear the government’s appeal against the High Court’s landmark ruling that said Prime Minister Theresa May does not have power to start the two-year, Brexit divorce proceedings with the E.U. without the prior authority of Parliament. The hearing is expected to take four… Read More >>
SIFMA, Others Push Treasury to Ease the Brexit Burden
Key U.S. financial services trade groups recently sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew asking him and his department to work with their counterparts in the U.K. and the E.U. toward “a smooth and transparent Brexit transition process that minimizes the impact on global markets,” according to the letter. The Securities… Read More >>
Brexit Threatens London’s Role as Financial Hub
One of the big unknowns in the post-Brexit world is the fate of London as a global financial hub. While some market participants will put on a brave face, arguing that the City’s infrastructure and skill sets are hard to replicate, recent studies argue that the dreaded exodus could happen if negotiations do not go… Read More >>
Brexit Political Turmoil Puts Markets in Limbo
Former U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan once famously said that a “week is a long time in politics,” but if recent events are anything to go by perhaps the statement should apply to 24 hours. Within a day last week, U.K. politics was turned on its head in a series of events that would be… Read More >>
