Pan-European trade body to scrutinise Brexit impact for EU, as the UK prepares for life outside the Single Market
A leading trade body for Europe's financial markets has launched a study into what fallout the EU can expect from the UK leaving the Single Market.
Prime Minister Theresa May laid out her vision for a post-Brexit Britain in a hotly-anticipated speech on Tuesday, including, as many had suspected, plans to leave the Single Market.
Now, Sky News has reported the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has commissioned Boston Consulting Group to take a closer look at what the effects of this will be, including how best to minimise any downsides for EU member states.
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"The focus of the report will be on the use of financial services products, including both wholesale markets and wholesale banking," AFME said in a statement confirming the report, which is currently in its very early stages and is expected to be published in April.
In recent days, a number of well-known names have voiced the opinion that a bad Brexit deal would hurt the EU as much, if not more, than it would hurt the UK.
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Last week, Bank of England governor Mark Carney told the influential Treasury Select Committee the consequence of a poor deal for Brexit without any transition period "would be greater for Europe than the UK", while chancellor Philip Hammond told those assembled at Davos the UK could, and would, "find ways" to compete without a trade deal.
In the Brexit speech itself, May showed she wasn't prepared to settle for second-best, remarking: "No deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain."