BREAKING: European Union: Decision on U.K. Financial Services Won't Come Before Jan 1

Source: Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union (E.U.) assessments of whether to grant market access for U.K. banks and other financial firms will not be completed in time for January, sources in the bloc said on Thursday as the estranged allies make a final push for a free trade deal.

Britain's unfettered access to the E.U. market under post-Brexit transition arrangements ends on Dec 31, leaving the City of London faced with being cut off from its biggest export customer, worth around 26 billion pounds a year.

The many separate E.U. assessments are being made by the European Commission, which declined to comment on Thursday, under the bloc's system of direct financial market access known as equivalence.

Financial services are not part of ongoing talks between Britain and the E.U. on a free trade agreement, but are being handled separately under the equivalence system.

With the trade talks snagged over three main issues, a second E.U. diplomat - who also was present at the Commission briefing - said the bloc would move more easily on the equivalence decisions if there was a breakthrough on trade.

Read more from the original article:

https://www.investing.com/news...