Recommendation 87

Such delays are particularly concerning given the comparative speed at which we were told competing jurisdictions can authorise senior managers. Professor Kern Alexander noted that: “Regarding authorisations, from what I understand from talking to practitioners, approvals of individual appointments take longer in this country in comparison to, say, in Ireland”. 150 The comparative speed of other jurisdictions was emphasised by Miles Celic, who noted that the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange waited 18 months for UK regulators to approve a representative office compared to weeks in New York. 151 Miles Celic added that: “He had been approached by Dublin, which said, ‘Well, we can offer you a sign-off for a representative office. We can do it in a few weeks, and you’ll have access to the European Union from Dublin as well’.” 152