The UK is the world’s largest exporter of financial services to the EU, containing over 5,000 companies which are reliant on passporting rights to freely provide their services within the EU. The ‘EU Passport’ enables financial firms in the UK to sell their services across the EU. If the EU were to recognise UK financial regulations as equivalent to its own post-Brexit, these firms would be permitted to retain their trading access. However, with equivalence decisions vulnerable to change at short notice, there is a need for greater business certainty, which a formal agreement could help to deliver.

This Dinner Discussion will:

• Consider the impact of requiring multiple licenses to access the EU market on UK financial services
• Discuss the risk of companies re-locating to the EU to maintain their access to the EU market
• Analyse the viability of UK financial services operating in the EU under equivalent rules
• Explore the likelihood and nature of a political agreement between the UK and EU on enabling future cross-border trade in financial services.