Brexit is right around the corner and you may be uncertain about what it means for your investments. We’re here to discuss the impact of the changes.
Brexit and the FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been working behind the scenes to ensure that Brexit causes minimal disruption to the UK financial industry.
The Government has drafted an EU Withdrawal Act. This will convert existing EU Law into UK law, and preserve existing UK laws which implement EU obligations.
As a result of the bill, the same rules and laws will apply after Brexit as before. This means that we should see little change to how things currently operate.
Brexit implementation period
In conjunction with the EU Withdrawal Act, the UK and EU are agreeing on an implementation period. This will allow the UK time to make the necessary changes and means that EU Law will still be applicable in the UK until December 2020.
Once finalised, the financial products that are protected will remain protected by the various consumer protection schemes in place, such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
The UK Government is making new laws to ensure that firms from the European Economic Area (EEA) which provide financial services can continue to provide these services in the UK, and that consumers are still protected when Brexit happens.
FCA authorisation
A temporary scheme will also be in place. It will allow EEA firms to operate in the UK for a period of time after Brexit. During this period, they can apply for permanent FCA authorisation to operate in the UK.
The temporary permissions regime will provide a backstop in the event that an implementation period is not agreed between the UK and the EU. It will allow EU firms to continue operating in the UK while seeking authorisation. As a result, they can operate within the scope of their current permissions for a limited period after Brexit day.
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