Banks told to relax: ECB won't give first-mover advantage

London

FINANCE executives planning to shift operations out of the UK because of Brexit have been told by European Central Bank (ECB) officials not to rush as there will be no first-mover advantage when it comes to gaining regulatory approvals, according to people briefed on the discussions.

To avoid any potential bottlenecks in the process, policymakers are considering allowing banks to use their UK-approved internal risk models for an extended period until euro-area regulators are able to hire more staff and perform their own assessments, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. No formal talks have taken place and no decisions reached, the person said.