The uk-eu relationship in financial services

The state of play
UK equivalence decisions
68. UK equivalence determinations are issued by the Treasury, supported by 
technical advice from the regulators and the Bank of England.
89
To date, 
the UK has adopted a more generous approach to granting equivalence to 
the EU than vice versa. It has issued positive determinations for EU and 
European Economic Area (EEA) states in 28 of the 32 areas identified for 
the equivalence process.
90
69. The UK’s approach to termination of equivalence also contrasts with that 
of the EU: like the European Commission, the Treasury reserves the right 
to revoke equivalence decisions at any time, but its guidance stresses that 
“withdrawal of equivalence will be considered as a last resort”, in light of 
“the importance of clarity and stability … and the negative impact that the 
possibility of withdrawal can have on confidence in the overall system”.
91
The European Commission’s July 2019 Communication on its approach to 
equivalence contains no such commitment.
92
70. Sir Jon Cunliffe described the UK’s approach to equivalence decisions as 
“open” and asserted that it would “continue to facilitate cross-border activity 
into and out of the UK.”
93
Similarly, the Economic Secretary said that the 
Government had “proactively made equivalence decisions ourselves towards 
the EU … because we believe in openness, and we believe that London as a 
financial centre needs to be open to other jurisdictions”.
94
71. Representatives of trade associations from the City welcomed the Treasury’s 
approach to equivalence, with UK Finance urging the Government to 
continue pursuing “a more outcomes-based approach than the EU rules-
based approach”.
95
72. 
We welcome the UK’s open approach to granting its own equivalence 
decisions. We view this openness as one of the UK’s great strengths in