MNI BRIEF: BOE Bailey Rejects EU Equivalence, Seeks Reform

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey rejected the idea that the UK should seek equivalence over financial services regulation with the European Union and made the case for the UK overhauling the EU insurance sector Solvency 2 directive.

Bailey told the Institute of Actuaries that regulation cannot be static and that "A mistake of some of the rhetoric in the EU equivalence debate is to presume that the world does stand still."

He made clear that he was not prepared to accept rule taking from the EU. As a result UK regulation will diverge and "Reforming Solvency II is sensible because the world moves on, and because it was never well suited to some aspects of the UK market," he said.