Half of FS Practitioners Believe UK EU-wide Treaty Veto Will Have Positive Impact
Half of financial services practitioners believe Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to veto an EU-wide treaty change will have a positive impact on financial services in the UK, a Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) survey shows. However, 34% consider the veto will have a negative influence, while a further 16% feel it will have no effect.
Welcoming the Prime Minister’s stance, one contributor, among the 350 who took part in the survey, said that it will “further serve to distinguish the UK as a haven for the financial services industry.” Another argued that “the banks are international and local legislation has a minimal impact.”
Among those fearing a backlash from the veto, there was deep concern that the UK will be left isolated from the EU, its major trading partner. One commentator said that “such negative perception of the British will be counterproductive in the long run” and another warned that “we will be left out in the cold”.
The new treaty was designed to improve financial stability in the eurozone by bringing about closer fiscal union of EU states. The Prime Minister said he had opted out of the pact, signed last December, in the UK’s national interest, after failing to secure safeguards on financial regulation and the single market.