On 1 February 2019, the FCA announced that it had agreed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and EU27 regulators dealing with cooperation and exchange of information in the event of a hard Brexit scenario.
The MoUs are:
- a multilateral MoU with EU and EEA national competent authorities covering supervisory cooperation, enforcement and information exchange. This will allow UK and EU regulators to share information relating to, amongst others, market surveillance, investment services and asset management activities. This, in turn, will allow certain activities, such as fund manager outsourcing and delegation, to continue to be carried out by UK based entities on behalf of counterparties based in the EEA; and
- an MoU with ESMA covering supervision of credit rating agencies and trade repositories. This MoU will allow ESMA to continue to discharge its mission and meet its mandate regarding investor protection, orderly markets and financial stability in the EU.
