The Brexit transition period – business as usual for mainstream debt capital market issuance for now

The EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, which was agreed at a political level on 17 October 2019 and sets the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU, must now be approved, ratified and implemented. From a UK perspective, the legislation giving legal effect to the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement (the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill, the WAB) is proceeding through Parliament and, in light of the significant majority of the Conservative government, is expected to become law before 31 January 2020 (exit day) without significant amendment. 

In this bulletin we briefly consider the implementation of the transition period in the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement and the impact this will have on mainstream debt capital market issuance, before considering what the future might hold at the end of the transition period.