Financial regulators in France have introduced new measures to attract UK-based companies that wish to relocate operations after Britain’s departure from the European Union.
France’s banking and insurance regulators have moved to slash red tape for UK firms, hoping to woo businesses with an easier process for approvals, the
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
In a statement, the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) said it will make licensing procedures for companies simpler and faster – and one way of doing so is by ensuring that all documentation will be available in English.
“For existing activities that are already supervised by the competent authority in the home country, the licensing procedure may be simplified and speeded up,” the ACPR said.
“This will be done by using documents already available in English such as forms that have been submitted to the supervisory authorities in the home country and papers concerning a branch whose business will be taken over by the subsidiary firm.”
English-speaking case managers will also be assigned to relocating companies to guide and advise them throughout the process, according to
AFP. The ACPR has likewise created a Brexit online mailbox for queries and forms.
“An English-speaking contact point will be appointed to guide applicant firms through the procedure starting with the pre-authorisation period and will provide all necessary information to ensure the smooth processing of the application,” the ACPR said.
Earlier this week, accountancy firm KPMG published new research which revealed that 76% of British CEOs are considering moving their businesses following the Brexit move (see
CEOs ready to make mass exodus from UK).
“CEOs are reacting to the prevailing uncertainty with contingency planning,” KPMG UK chairman Simon Collins said in a statement.
“Over half believe the UK’s ability to do business will be disrupted once we Brexit and therefore, for many CEOs, it is important that they plan different scenarios to hedge against future disruption,” he added.
The UK government also released figures showing Brexit’s potential scale of disruption in Britain’s financial industry and insurance sector.
According to the Financial Conduct Authority, almost 5,500 UK firms including 5,727 insurance intermediaries, are relying on their passporting rights to do business in Europe.
“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,” lawmaker Andrew Tyrie, head of Parliament’s treasury select committee, was quoted as saying by
The Guardian.
Related stories:
CEOs ready to make mass exodus from UK
Lloyd’s boss: ‘We certainly wouldn’t relocate’
Over 2,700 UK brokers face ‘significant’ risk
