Insurance giants, global brokers and other industry players are among the 13,500 companies exposed to the risk posed by the UK’s impending departure from the European Union (EU), according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
In response to a Freedom of Information request by market insight firm MLex, the FCA has released a list of companies at risk of losing cross-border “passporting” rights following the Brexit move.
Based on the list, some 5,476 companies in the UK hold at least one passport to offer financial services across the EU. Another 8,008 firms registered elsewhere in Europe hold passports to provide services in Britain.
International brokers including
Aon, Arthur J.
Gallagher, Jardine Lloyd Thompson,
Marsh and Willis are listed as holding passporting rights under the EU’s Insurance Mediation Directive.
Meanwhile, major insurers such as
AXA, Legal & General,
Allianz,
Zurich,
Aviva,
AIG Europe, and Markel are listed as holding passporting rights under the Solvency II Directive.
The FCA figures were first revealed in September by lawmaker Andrew Tyrie, head of the parliament’s treasury select committee.
Of the 5,476 companies based in the UK that rely on passporting rights, 2,758 are brokers operating under the EU’s Insurance Mediation Directive, which covers insurance intermediaries.
Another 5,727 insurance intermediaries elsewhere in the EU market depend on passporting rights to do business in the UK.
“These figures give us an initial idea of the effects of losing full access to the single market in financial services. The business put at risk could be significant,”
The Guardian previously quoted Tyrie as saying.
Apart from insurance firms, major financial institutions including Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are on the FCA list.
Small businesses in the UK are also listed including car-rental companies, real-estate developers and package-holiday providers, MLex noted.
See the full list obtained by MLex
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