Hedging their bets: The Impact of Brexit on the Financial Services Industry

Hedging-their-bets-event-picture

On 22 November 2017, ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the European Movement International (EMI) jointly organised a conference called 'Hedging their bets: The impact of Brexit on the Financial Services Industry' in Brussels.

After a key note speech from Jo Leinen, MEP and President of the EM International, a panel of experts composed of Guillaume McLaughlin, Head of Cabinet of Guy Verhofstadt, EP Brexit negotiator, Laura Muir, Head for Strategy and Bank Structure at Barclays, Tomo Ishikawa, Head of Regulatory Strategy for EMEA at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Pablo Portugal, Director, Public Policy and Advocacy at AFME was moderated by EMI’s Secretary General Petros Fassoulas. The debate confirmed that fragmentation and uncertainty are the enemies of financial markets. All speakers stressed the importance of early clarity on transitional arrangements and contractual continuity, so businesses and the financial industry can plan accordingly.

The importance of avoiding further market fragmentation and of continuing and strengthening the Capital Markets Union was also clearly stated. There was general consensus on that fact that we still don’t know how the post-Brexit world will look like. The EU-27 will be adjusting to the new reality and will need to develop its capital markets capacity to keep its competitiveness and attractiveness. 

Concluding remarks were delivered by Richard Ashworth, MEP, and conclusions by Anthony Walters, Global head of Public Affairs at ACCA.