Two roads diverge – but by how much?

The United Kingdom is about to forge its own path outside the European Union but, for financial services, much will depend on whether Britain’s future regulatory regime will continue to align, or cut loose and risk being deemed not ‘equivalent’ in prescribed areas by the EU. Neasa MacErlean discusses different approaches in view.

The UK Government has announced its intention to diverge from EU financial services regulation — picking capital market rules as the arena for this significant statement. But Boris Johnson’s team walk a long tightrope. If they go too far, will they jeopardise the ‘equivalence’ arrangements that would give the UK some specified market access rights in the EU? And, if so, how much do they worry about that?