Brexit: Finance firms need freedom to choose location

Finance firms should not be forced by regulators to change location after Britain leaves the European Union in 2019, Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday. Banks, insurers and asset managers based in Britain are already making contingency plans to shift some operations to continental Europe after Brexit takes effect in case access to the EU single market is closed off. But Bailey said Britain and the EU are in a position to preserve free trade for financial services, meaning such moves need not happen. "Firms should be able to take their own decisions on where they locate, subject to appropriate regulatory arrangements being in place which preserve the public interest," Bailey said, in