European firms wishing to retain their temporary Brexit permissions need to meet the FCA’s standards to continue operating in the UK, the regulator confirmed on Tuesday.
The financial sector watchdog said the regime was designed to ensure European firms operating in the UK through passporting when the Brexit transition period ended could continue operating temporarily, as they sought full authorisation in the UK.
It said the Temporary Permissions Regine (TPR) should only be used by firms who want to operate in the UK in the long-term, and met the standards to do so.
The FCA said firms could be asked to stop undertaking new business, or could be removed from the TPR if they missed their ‘landing slot’, failed to respond to mandatory information requests, had no intention of applying for full authorisation, or if their authorisation application was refused.
It had already cancelled the temporary permissions of four firms, who, despite multiple opportunities, did not respond to mandatory information requests.
Firms that have their permissions cancelled can no longer conduct regulated business in the UK, and would be committing a criminal offence if they did, the FCA said.
“The UK is open for business, but not to firms who do not meet our regulatory expectations,” said the FCA’s executive director of authorisations, Emily Shepperd.
“We expect firms operating under the regime to be responsive to our requests for information, and that are coherent in their business planning.
“We will continue to act against firms that fail to meet our standards.”
