UK To Give EEA Firms 3 Years Temporary Permission Post-Brexit

The UK proposes to grant temporary permissions to EEA firms currently operating in the UK under EU financial services 'passports' to continue their UK activities, for three years after Brexit day. 

HM Treasury states that the regime will ensure that: 

• EEA firms can continue to carry out business as before, writing new contracts and servicing existing contracts entered into before exit day for the temporary period after exit day;
• EEA firms have appropriate time to prepare for and submit applications for UK authorisation and complete any necessary restructuring; and
• The PRA and the FCA can manage the expected applications for UK authorisation from EEA firms in a smooth and orderly manner.

The draft regulations are here and the explanatory information is here.

The FCA has published its own webpage on how it will implement the temporary permission regime (TPR).

Firms wishing to use the TPR must notify the FCA online between early January 2019 and at a date (not yet specified) prior to exit day. Such firms will be allocated a period within which they must submit their application for UK authorisation. The FCA expects the window to be October to December 2019 and the last to be January to March 2021. The FCA intends to consult in autumn 2018 on the rules that will apply to firms and funds in the TPR and a policy statement and final rules early in 2019.