Select committee calls for post-Brexit transactional deal

The Lords’ EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee has written to the Chancellor calling for an urgent agreement on a post-Brexit “standstill” transition point for the financial services sector. Baroness Falkner said the industry has repeatedly warned it cannot continue to service cross-border clients after 2019 if a transition period is not agreed by the end of 2017.  The Committee is concerned that the hoped-for date of Q1 2018 will be too late. Moreover, the witnesses it has heard in its enquiry need a legally binding agreement on the future, and are unwilling to rely on a mere statement of intent.