UK firms confident of Brexit deal

THE BRITISH government and senior finance executives said they are increasingly confident Europe will offer financial companies generous market access after Brexit, boosting London’s hopes of retaining its status as a top global financial centre.

Since Britain voted to leave the EU 22 months ago, some of the world’s most powerful finance companies in London have been searching for a way to preserve the existing cross-border flow of trading after it leaves the bloc in March 2019.

“The fog is clearing… We are already seeing progress,” the City minister, John Glen, told the CityWeek conference in the Square Mile’s Guildhall. “The EU have now recognised that there will be some form of market access in financial services, having previously dismissed the idea.”

Last month, EU states and the European Parliament formally recognised the need to discuss market access terms for financial services, having previously indicated they wouldn’t agree to a deal that would allow finance companies to operate in each others’ markets without barriers.

Britain’s vast financial services looks set to be one of the most divisive areas in the Brexit negotiations, with Britain demanding a generous deal, while the EU refuses to shift from its insistence that Britain’s red lines make that impossible.