On 24 May 2021, HM Treasury and the US Department of Treasury published a joint statement following the latest US – UK Financial Regulatory Working Group (Working Group) meeting that took place on 20 May 2021.

The Working Group was formed in 2018 to deepen bilateral regulatory cooperation with a view to the further promotion of financial stability; investor protection; fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and capital formation in both jurisdictions.

The latest Working Group meeting focused on seven themes: (1) international and bilateral cooperation, (2) sustainable finance, (3) updates on domestic initiatives and priorities, (4) benchmark transition, (5) cross-border regimes, (6) operational resilience, and (7) banking and insurance.

In terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU the statement notes that the Working Group discussed areas of mutual interest where international and bilateral cooperation could be intensified. In that regard, the Working Group discussed the importance of preserving the global asset management industry’s portfolio management delegation model, continuing cooperative efforts to promote the free flow of cross-border financial services data, and the need to avoid regulatory fragmentation and data localization as financial authorities seek to strengthen operational resilience in the financial sector. The Working Group also discussed the risks regarding any regulatory driven fragmentation in derivatives clearing markets and highlighted the benefits that the global nature of derivatives clearing, underpinned by effective supervisory cooperation, can bring.