The City is trying to return to the negotiations Brexit

View of the City, the business district of London, in February. DANIEL Sorabji / AFP

There are four, full referendum campaign for Brexit, the City was the heart of the debate. To put pressure, some large banks patterns, those of JPMorgan and HSBC in the lead, had even threatened to relocate thousands of jobs in case of exit from the United Kingdom to the European Union (EU).

Wednesday, January 8, while Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, respectively president and British prime minister to the European Commission started negotiations on future trade relations between London and Brussels, the subject is almost missing. In the UK, the City, once all-powerful, which reports 10.5% of tax revenues in London, has disappeared from the political radar. Catherine McGuinness, head of the City of London Corporation, the organization that runs the business district recognizes that it must recover. "Our priority is to remind the British government the importance of the services sector in general and finance in particular", She explains to World.

Article reserved for our subscribers Read also These bankers that Brexit was brought back to France

The file is urgent. After the official date of Brexit on January 31 evening, a transition period of eleven months will open, during which the existing arrangements between London and Brussels will remain. Then the end of 2020, the UK will lose the famous "Financial passport", allowing banks operating in the City of work across the EU. " It's finish, confirmed Mme Von der Leyen, during a speech in London. The United Kingdom may obtain "equivalency" but it will be a unilateral decision of the EU. "

"Lobbying in Brussels"

Sector by sector, the EU may grant equivalence to other countries if elle'ins believes that the regulations are similar or compatible. This can give third-country financial firms access to the European market. But Brussels may withdraw this approval unilaterally, with little notice.

Switzerland has learned the hard way. In 2019, the EU removed the Zurich Stock Exchange its equivalency agreement. Overnight, brokers located in the Twenty-Eight lost automatic access to Swiss equities. The European authorities recognized that there were no technical problems, but they have used this leverage in the context of broader political negotiations with Switzerland. A response from the Swiss authorities helped limit the impact on the place of Zurich, but the cost brokerage increased.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here