UK and EU take first step since Brexit to cooperate on financial services

Britain and the European Union took their first step since Brexit to cooperate on financial services, agreeing on a new forum to discuss market regulation.

The move could help finance firms in the City of London to one day win back some access to the single market they lost when the UK left the EU.

The two sides have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding on financial services, according to two people familiar with the talks. The content and substance of the deal had been finalised, and the two sides are now working on the formal process of validation, one of the people said.

The MoU sets out a framework for regulatory cooperation and a joint forum for discussing rules and procedures as well as the sharing of information. It is separate from any decision on equivalence.