Germany Dismisses Key U.K. Demands on Banks’ Post-Brexit Access
- Holle says equivalence rules won’t be expanded anytime soon
- U.K. government pushing for more generous treatment for firms
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The European Union won’t rush to enhance market access for financial firms outside the bloc, a senior German official said, pushing back against key U.K. government demands in the Brexit negotiations.
Expanding EU “equivalence” rules, which can open the single market to non-EU firms, to new areas such as banking is unlikely anytime soon, said Levin Holle, director general for financial-markets policy at the German Finance Ministry. And any arrangement granting mutual market access for EU and U.K. firms “would have to maintain full regulatory autonomy,” including the right to unilaterally withdraw access at any time, he said.