Still no clarity from UK to assess financial market access, says EU

The European Commission is still waiting for Britain to say if it will diverge from European Union rules before Brussels can decide on UK financial market access, a spokesman for the EU executive body said on Tuesday. Daniel Ferrie, the commission's financial services spokesman, said Monday's announcement by Britain to grant EU financial firms selective access to the UK provided no further clarity on possible divergence from EU rules going forward.

The European Commission is still waiting for Britain to say if it will diverge from European Union rules before Brussels can decide on UK financial market access, a spokesman for the EU executive body said on Tuesday.

Daniel Ferrie, the commission's financial services spokesman, said Monday's announcement by Britain to grant EU financial firms selective access to the UK provided no further clarity on possible divergence from EU rules going forward. With less than two months before Britain's full access to the EU ends under post-Brexit transition arrangements on Dec. 31, the City of London faces being largely cut off from its biggest customer.

Britain's finance minister, Rishi Sunak, said on Monday he would not wait for Brussels to decide on UK access to the bloc's financial market and would instead unilaterally allow EU financial firms to offer selected services to UK customers from January. The EU is assessing access under its system known as equivalence that opens the way for foreign financial firms if their home rules are as robust as those in the 27-nation bloc.

"The Commission’s assessment of the UK’s relevant rules for potential equivalence decisions is ongoing," Ferrie said. It evaluates whether Britain's current and future regulatory frameworks reach the same outcomes as those in the EU, he said.

Britain has indicated that it will not apply some EU rules and look to amend others, such as capital requirements for insurers. "The UK Treasury’s statement provides no further clarity on the UK’s possible divergence from EU rules going forward, or about the UK’s future supervisory practices," Ferrie said.