David Frost, who previously led UK negotiations with his European Commission counterpart Michel Barnier, has been appointed to a cabinet role, intended to co-ordinate the job of continuing negotiations over issues such as financial markets access. Another Brexiteer, former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, was also appointed to a role overseeing work to draw up regulatory reform. It suggests that the UK may dig in, making equivalence decisions by the EC a more distant prospect.
Meanwhile, LME brokers continued to shift business to the EU, and the FCA ended a consultation period on a higher levy to fund its retail compensation scheme activities, which means potentially greater costs for boutiques and other managers selling into the UK market. Click the PDF link below to read more.