Brexit blog

 

From the outset, we have had very low expectations of what the financial services industry was going to get either from the Brexit deal with the EU or the much vaunted Brexit dividend of a bonfire of regulation.

 

We have been providing regular updates on the former, in particular, the notable absence of anything meaningful just as the absence becomes more significant with the advancement of the EU Capital Markets Union. For investment managers, the EU is laying down another roll of barbed wire between us and them from 2nd August when the new rules the Directive and Regulation on the cross-border distribution of funds (CBDF) come into effect.

 

Our expectations were even lower for the Brexit dividend of a bonfire of regulation. Hopes for tracking down the elusive Brexit dividend were reduced further in February when it was announced that Iain Duncan Smith would be leading the search party. His Task Force on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) issued its report in May, and is predictably underwhelming. Even before the Task Force had reached its target, the Prime Minister had announced the creation of another crack unit to embark on the same mission.

 

You can find our further thoughts on all of this here.