7 The UK Supervisory Regime in the Post-Brexit Environment

Subject(s):

International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) — Financial regulation — Basel committee on Banking Supervision — International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)

This chapter addresses how the UK regulatory regime is changing in light of Brexit. In the months that followed the vote by the UK to leave the European Union, UK regulators had to grapple with the practicalities of ‘taking back control’. UK regulators essentially adopted a pragmatic, technical solution that did not initially result in any major shift towards deregulation. Equally, at the international level, there was no real impetus to deregulate. The regulatory direction of travel at international bodies such as IOSCO, IAIS, and the Basel Committee is towards regulatory convergence. Nevertheless, divergence between the UK and the EU may be more likely in the future. In particular, the appointment of Boris Johnson as prime minister in July of 2019 has led to increased calls for deregulation which may in time lead to a shift in government policy.