UK will not diverge far from EU in Brexit rules bonfire, says Treasury official
The Treasury’s chief of financial services looked to play down the severity of the UK’s planned post-Brexit bonfire of financial regulation today, saying the EU’s financial rules shared the same goals and were designed in part by UK lawmakers.
Ministers have long-promised a post-Brexit overhaul of EU rules in UK financial services, with the financial services bill announced in the Queen’s speech last month expected to set out a slew of reforms to EU era regulation.
But speaking at a Bloomberg UK policy series event today, director general of financial services at the Treasury Gwyneth Nurse said the UK would not diverge far from the bloc’s rules, and it was important to note that Britain played a central role in coming up with EU regulation to begin with.
“I think the important point thing is not to see it as divergence or otherwise,” she said. “We are now separate and we have our own way of thinking about things, but bearing in mind, we were very influential in those debates [around EU regulation].”
Nurse said that while there “will be differences” with the bloc, the Treasury can also be clear that “there won’t necessarily be massive differences in terms of broad objectives.”
“We share a commitment with the EU to high standards and to working with international partners, including through international bodies,” she added.
Nurse’s comments come as Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak prepare to give a joint speech in June on planned post-Brexit reforms to the EU’s Solvency II insurance regulations, The Sun reported.
Solvency II rules, which have required insurers to hold huge amounts of cash on their books, are expected to be top of the list for reform by ministers, after changes were first announced by city minister John Glen earlier this year.