FCA and BoE warn of politically motivated equivalence decisions on UK

UK must have scope to amend own rules

The UK cannot remain "blindly aligned" to European Union financial regulations after the Brexit transition period, regulators have said, but "political decisions" could see the country’s market access to the bloc rescinded in just 30 days.

Senior Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Bank of England (BoE) figures told the House of Lords' EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee on Wednesday (12 February) that the UK should be granted the status of "equivalence" - the process by which a jurisdiction's regulatory regime is deemed compatible with that of the EU - from the moment the transition period ends at the end of this year, thereby maintaining market access to the bloc. However, they said regulators must have scope to amend UK rules where they see fit, without the need for "a metaphorical punch up" and the threat of equivalen...