The TRADE 57 | Page 38

[ M A R K E T R E V I E W | B R E X I T ] W “The level of change to how financial services firms operate will still be significant and the time window to meet these challenges is short.” OMAR ALI, UK FINANCIAL SERVICES LEAD, EY 38 // TheTrade // Autumn 2018 hen it comes to Brexit the situation seems to become tenser with each passing day. Negotiations have dragged on and fears of a ‘no-deal’ scenario ahead of the UK’s depar- ture from the European Union next March are starting to dominate the financial world. In July, the EU markets watchdog went so far as to warn that firms based in London must adequately prepare for such a possibility, urging that applications for relocation outside of the UK should be submitted immediately. “ESMA has seen an increase in the number of authorisation requests submitted to EU27 au- thorities. Against this background, ESMA urges entities wishing to relocate to the EU27 to submit their application for authorisation as soon as possible to allow it to be processed before 29 March 2019,” the statement said. “Some [Eu- ropean national regulators] have already been clear to entities that, unless an application is receiv