TheCityUK, the lobbying group, warned that lawmakers still need to urgently address the issue of contract continuity after Brexit as the UK government published preparation plans for leaving.

The UK government yesterday published its contingency plans for a number of sectors if the country leaves the European Union in March next year after failing to negotiate any deal.

Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, gave an overview of the plans in a speech:

Here is Dominic Raab's speech #NoDealBrexit planning in full: https://t.co/cUtx34B7J6

— TheCityUK (@TheCityUK) August 23, 2018

The plans included a paper on financial services:

Here is the government's paper on banking, insurance and other financial services if there’s #nodealbrexit https://t.co/VhRgY6RiAc

— TheCityUK (@TheCityUK) August 23, 2018

TheCityUK, the lobbying group, responded to the plans :

Financial services in the UK well-advanced on Brexit preparation – the UK government is taking prudent and pragmatic actions too – we urge the EU to do the same https://t.co/gITxIJ6IEp

— TheCityUK (@TheCityUK) August 23, 2018

Miles Celic, chief executive of TheCityUK, said in a statement: “Top of the list of pressing issues is the need to address the unresolved issue of contract continuity. Neither the industry nor the UK can fix this alone. This is a practical issue that impacts customers and clients. It is time for EU authorities to tackle it in that spirit.”

A briefing on contract continuity is available on TheCityUK website.

The Investment Association, the trade body that represents UK fund managers, said:

The asset management industry has been looking to the UK Government to outline its understanding of the consequences of a no-deal Brexit. Our response to @DExEUgov's technical notices, which provide some welcome clarity: pic.twitter.com/pw0obiw5gk

— The Investment Association (@InvAssoc) August 23, 2018

Chris Cummings, chief executive of IA, said in a statement that the UK Financial Conduct Authority is ready to draw up bilateral regulatory cooperation agreements. He continued: “These are now urgently needed.”

On asset management Sean Tuffy, head of EMEA regulatory & market intelligence at Cit, noted:

A little late to this but the UK’s no deal blurb on asset management seems mostly okay pic.twitter.com/m5DV40EWZj

— Sean Tuffy (@SMTuffy) August 23, 2018

The Association for Financial Markets in Europe added:

A #Brexit no-deal could mean prolonged disruption to Europe's #CapitalMarkets. The financial industry is keen to see a Brexit deal which agrees on a transition period & future trading relationship to minimise such risks. https://t.co/xAZvl6rGJx pic.twitter.com/f0hv8kmbme

— AFME (@AFME_EU) August 23, 2018

Simon Lewis, chief executive of the AFME, said in a statement: “The consequences of a no-deal Brexit scenario could mean prolonged disruption to the smooth functioning of Europe’s capital markets, which would affect investors, borrowers and savers across Europe and beyond. The financial services industry is keen to see both negotiating parties agree on a deal which locks in an agreement on a transition period and the future trading relationship in order to minimise the risks to financial stability.”

Lewis Goodall, political correspondent at Sky News, noted:

11.) On banking and financial services (huge slice of the economy), the government would have to create a whole array of new arrangements for very complicated financial mechanisms from scratch. Not clear much work has been done on this so far. pic.twitter.com/QmFwTLfYf4

— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) August 23, 2018

Goodall continued:

13.) The City had been thought to be an area relatively resilient to the impact of no deal, with lots of preparations in place to mitigate its effects. Officials appear to disagree, with no deal affecting the ability of the City to keep trading as it has in all manner of areas. pic.twitter.com/7qTdRh5ops

— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) August 23, 2018

PIMFA, the wealth management and financial advice association, said in a statement:

“In response to the HM Government preparations for a ‘no deal’ scenario, PIMFA – the UK’s leading wealth management and financial advice association – reiterates the importance of keeping the interests of retail clients as a priority in the negotiations. PIMFA would like to see more detail as to how the government will address the risks posed to EEA clients under a “no Brexit deal” situation.

In our opinion, a main priority for the government should be to negotiate a deal with the EU that will provide necessary certainty to the private client investment, brokerage and advice sector in financial services, as well as the private clients and their families, whose savings and investments of approximately £1.5 trillion they manage. Minimising costs is a key factor.”