Brexit webinars and podcasts
Our Brexit experts host events and publish podcasts in order to keep clients abreast of commercial and legal developments. These complement the wealth of articles that are regularly published and updated by specialists from across our network.
Webinar series – After the fog: licensing, divergence and post-Brexit life for EEA financial services providers
As we near six months post-Brexit, our financial services regulatory and fund management specialists will be hosting a short series of webinars looking at requirements applying to, and options facing, firms in the UK’s Temporary Permission Regime, challenges facing fund managers both selling into the UK and providing cross-border services from the UK and the impact on firms of divergence between the UK and EU financial services regimes.
EEA firms: authorisation - to be or not to be? – 20 May 2021
In this session, aimed at formerly passporting EEA firms and payment service providers that entered the UK’s Temporary Permission Regime (TPR) at 11pm on 31 December 2020, we recapped on what it means to be in the TPR and what rules apply to your business, how firms might exit the TPR and the choice firms have to either become authorised or to surrender their licence to conduct regulated activities in the UK.
EEA firms: becoming, and being, authorised – Wednesday 9 June 2021
In this session aimed at firms in the TPR, we discussed what is required in order to become and remain authorised as a third country branch. We focused on the requirements for firms seeking authorisation by the FCA and the PRA. We also provided an overview the process and key aspects of authorisation (picking up on FCA’s recent publication on its approach to international firms and its updated approach to regulating EMIs/PIs) and discussed life as a third country firm with a focus on the key differences from life in the TPR.
The pros and cons of diverging - Wednesday 30 June 2021
During this session, which had a broader focus, we looked at areas where the UK is already proactively seeking to diverge from the EU, what this means for firms in terms of managing that divergence and what impact the fundamental review of the regulatory framework post-Brexit is likely to have.
Recent events
Good medicine: a prescription for a healthy UK financial services industry post-Brexit – 25 February 2021
During this session we considered the broader future direction of the UK financial services industry. Following its exit from the single market, the UK government now carries significantly greater autonomy over the UK legal and regulatory system, but is also faced with potential cross-winds from Europe, the US and (longer term) China. We ran through the macro picture – and in particular the tension between domestic reform and international commitments – and presented our view of how to fortify the position of London as a premier financial centre.
Dispute resolution clauses in the wake of the UK/EU trade deal – 17 February 2021
We considered what impact Brexit may have on the popularity of English law and jurisdiction clauses in commercial contracts and whether the courts of other jurisdictions or arbitration might gain more traction. We also considered what types of disputes we are likely to see arising out of Brexit, both in the short and longer term.
The Legal Impact of Brexit on the Securitisation Market – 27 January 2021
Our Securitisation experts discussed practical considerations and key legal issues that are coming into focus as the industry is moving into the new post-Brexit reality.
Post-Brexit legal regime webinar – The impact for Czech and wider CEE deals – 28 January 2021
We discussed the implications for Czech and wider CEE-based businesses, including the latest update on governing law of contracts, jurisdiction clauses and also the LIBOR transition.
Brexit contingency planning – a series of financial regulatory webinars
- Brexit contingency planning
- Fog in the channel: the sunlit uplands edition – 3 December 2020
- Fog in the Channel: the Taking back control edition – 19 November 2020
- Fog in the Channel: the Asset and Fund Management edition
- Fog in the Channel: the Payment Services and Fintech edition
- Fog in the Channel: the Help! I’ve lost my passport! edition – 8 October 2020
- Fog in the Channel: the Repapering edition – 24 September 2020
- Fog in the Channel: the TTP edition – 10 September 2020
- Fog in the Channel: the MiFIR edition – 23 July 2020
- Fog in the Channel: the EMIR edition – 9 July 2020
- Fog in the Channel: Brexit Update for Financial Institutions – 25 June 2020
Brexit contingency planning
We hosted a series of webinars as organisations in the financial sector moved into the final stages of implementation of Brexit contingency planning, including repapering, onboarding, systems changes and staff migration, details of which can be found below.
Fog in the channel: the sunlit uplands edition – 3 December 2020
Fog in the channel: the sunlit uplands edition – 3 December 2020
In the final edition, after the usual general update, we provided a round up on day 1 implementation issues as the countdown to exiting the Single Market begins.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: the Taking back control edition – 19 November 2020
In the Taking Back Control session, after the usual general update, we discussed the UK government’s progress on forging a bright new future for the UK regulatory system under the Financial Services Bill, considered HMT’s second phase consultation on the Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review and examined what the FCA’s consultation on its proposed approach to authorising and supervising non-UK firms under Consultation Paper 20/20 means for entrants into the Temporary Permissions Regime.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: the Asset and Fund Management edition
We considered some of the key areas of challenge for UK and EU asset and fund managers arising from Brexit, including the impact of the UK’s transitional regime and the changes proposed to be made by HM Treasury and the FCA to the UK regulatory regime.
We also considered the options for UK firms wishing to do business in the EU post-Brexit and emerging market practice.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: the Payment Services and Fintech edition
We provided an in-depth analysis of the principal areas of change for UK and EU payments, e-money and consumer credit firms, including the steps which firms should take to prepare for the end of the Brexit Implementation Period from a strategic, operational and contractual perspective including changes required to pre-contractual information for credit and mortgage contracts.
We also discussed how firms should address new “onshored” requirements deriving from the second Payment Services Directive, the Interchange Fee Regulation and SCA-RTS, plus the recent FCA proposals regarding eIDAS certificates.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: the Help! I’ve lost my passport! edition – 8 October 2020
During this session, we reviewed licensing issues associated with the loss of passporting rights for UK and EU firms. In particular, we:
- gave an update on no deal legislation in EU relevant to UK firms losing EU single market rights; and
- discussed the options for EU firms which provide currently cross-border services into the UK without a UK branch, including analysis of the costs and benefits of (i) entering the UK Temporary Permissions Regime, (ii) entering the Financial Services Contracts Regime and (iii) continuing to provide services into the UK without authorisation.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: the Repapering edition – 24 September 2020
We covered repapering and client engagement: regulatory notification requirements, legal drivers for contractual change arising from Brexit (including the vexed question of references to EU law in English law contracts) and approaches to managing the client outreach process.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: the TTP edition – 10 September 2020
We provided a deep-dive into the draft revisions to the FCA Directions under the Temporary Transitional Powers regime. In particular what relief each regulator’s TTP Directions give (and what they do not), how the FCA’s Directions have changed since the pre-Withdrawal Agreement versions, and where they leave firms’ implementation plans.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: the MiFIR edition – 23 July 2020
We provided an in depth analysis of the principal areas of change for UK, EU and third country firms under MiFIR and UK MiFIR, including transparency, transaction reporting, the share trading obligation and the derivatives trading obligation.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: the EMIR edition – 9 July 2020
We provided an in depth analysis of the obligations of UK and EU market participants under EMIR and ‘onshored’ UK EMIR at the end of 2020, including changes in scope, counterparty classification, reporting, clearing, margin and intragroup exemptions.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Fog in the Channel: Brexit Update for Financial Institutions – 25 June 2020
With the upcoming EU-UK summit and expiry of the deadline for extension of the implementation period, the coming weeks will see Brexit re-emerge into the spotlight. This webinar covered key areas for financial institutions.
A recording of the session can be accessed here and the slides are available here.
Podcasts
Preparing for the end of the Brexit transition period – ten points relevant to mainstream debt capital market issuance
You can listen to the podcasts on the following:
