9th Report - Scrutiny of international agreements: UK-Switzerland Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Financial Services

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government welcomes the Committee's endorsement of the Berne Financial Services Agreement and says it is focused on implementation, which both countries aim to complete by the end of 2025 at the latest.

• On parliamentary oversight of regulators' MoUs, the Government says it is "appropriate for the independent regulators to agree these MoUs in line with their usual processes", but the MoUs "are expected to be published once they are signed" and shared with the Committee.
• On expansion, it welcomes the Committee's support for exploring sectoral expansion "at the appropriate time", noting that Article 12 commits both countries to negotiate with a view to potentially including sustainable finance.
• On similar agreements with other jurisdictions, it says it is "open to considering further agreements of this nature where there is mutual interest and these conditions are met", citing conditions such as high regulatory standards.
• On uptake of the Agreement, it says it will continue to engage with industry, and will monitor usage once it is in force, including through an FCA register of Swiss firms using the access provided.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error