Last week, the FCA announcedthat firms and funds will continue to benefit from passporting between the UK and EEA during a transition period, following Brexit. Obligations under EU law will continue to apply, and firms must continue with their implementation plans for EU legislation that is due to come into effect before the end of 2020 (this is likely to include the new prudential regime, which we were unsure UK firms would need to comply with).

This means that firms benefiting from an EU passport need not apply for authorisation at this stage.

Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA, has said that this transition period will allow for further cooperation between UK and EU regulators, to provide solutions for FS firms following Brexit.

The statement can be found here.

This will come as good news for firms, that are spending a lot of their time and resource on their Brexit contingency planning, as they now have further time to implement any changes to their current strategies.