On 24 May 2024, there was published a joint statementbetween HM Treasury and the European Commission covering the second EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum. This forum was established following the signing of the UK-EU Memorandum of Understanding on Financial Services Cooperation on 27 June 2023.
In the joint statement the UK and EU summarise their discussions which focused around six main areas: regulatory and market developments and financial stability outlook, (ii) banking and anti-money laundering, (iii) sustainable finance (iv) capital markets (v) asset management, and (vi) digital finance and artificial intelligence. The joint statement does not refer to equivalence other than the UK participants providing an update on enacting the UK’s equivalence decision for UCITS funds domiciled in the EEA, including in EU member states, under the Overseas Funds Regime.
The joint statement notes that participants had a useful exchange on the shortening of the settlement cycle (T+1). While the UK and EU are each making their own assessment on the way forward, both agreed to continue to discuss how the EU and the UK might coordinate on the timing of any move within the European continent, including discussing this at the next Forum.