Bank: UK has influence in Europe
Britain has successfully influenced financial regulation in Brussels, a top Bank of England official said yesterday.
Critics of the UK’s relationship with the European Union have complained that rules such as the bonus cap are effectively imposed on Britain from above, hitting financial services.
But Alex Brazier, executive director, financial stability strategy and risk at the Bank of England, told MPs that Britain does have influence.
“The EU has in some ways led the way globally in implementing reforms and regimes to resolve failing banks,” the newly appointed member of the Bank’s financial policy committee told the treasury select committee.
“That really benefits the UK, not just because we now have that regime, but also because the people with which we are most closely interconnected also have that regime,” Brazier added.
“The UK had significant influence on their development, partly because of the UK’s position as a financial centre. Being part of that debate has been really quite valuable to the UK.”