• Doron Cohen, CEO at Covercy


• 04.10.2016 11:15 am
undisclosed

Sterling’s plunge is an indication that the markets clearly believe that there will be a ‘hard’ Brexit, following on from Theresa May’s comments over the weekend. In the short term, this means that the currency’s value could plumb new depths due to the atmosphere of uncertainty, with the slightest pronouncement having a profound impact on the currency markets.

The big question is if Britain will lose access to the single market. If it does, in the longer term, financial organisations, both big and small will face a much more complicated regulatory structure. Currently, organisations, such as Covercy, can operate anywhere within the European Union. However, if single market access is lost, two separate licences will be required, one for the EU and one for Britain. The consequences of what this actually means and how much red tape will be involved is the real unknown for financial businesses, however it is safe to say that jobs in the financial sector in the UK would be lost to other EU regions, with Frankfurt being the most likely destination to benefit most.

Also, there will be an adverse long term effect on UK exporters. Currently they are enjoying the short term benefit of the historically low sterling rate, but if single market access is lost, they will have to face import taxes imposed on their products in large EU countries, making it harder for them to compete against EU based exporters.