The UK decided to leave the European Union on 24th June, 2016.
It seems that it is only now various parties have begun to seriously consider the consequences of Brexit, implying that politicians, institutions and businesses were insufficiently prepared.
Let’s narrow it down to the financial services industry. This industry represents a very significant chunk of the UK GDP, it’s a major contributor to UK service exports and employs a very high number of very well-paid employees. No one is currently able to define the scope of the Brexit decision, however, what seems to be evident is that all EU-related business will suffer. The central theme is the passporting and free export of financial products and services to the EU. This may include corporate finance advisory, structuring, securities, derivatives, FX trading activity, settlements, clearing services and asset management. Related activities such as legal advice, regulatory functions, information services etc. will also naturally be affected as a result.
It is not yet clear to which extent and which areas of the value chain will be affected, but it is already evident that substantial parts of the operations and respective personnel will swiftly move to various European locations. This will require the need for substantial change management programs to define the activities to be moved, identify the processes, people and IT requirements and execute a respective and effective program at scale. Brexit will create an opportunity to question the established legacy methods of the way business is currently done and present an opportunity to re-engineer and innovate existing ways of doing business. A likely consequence is that business unit structures will become more decentralised on an institutional and industry level.
Perhaps this is the catalyst that was needed to move the Financial Services industry toward faster innovation and transformation? Time will tell.
Digital disruption and transformation is what Fintricity thrive at and we are available to accompany you on this ever-changing journey to improve and stabilise the future of your business.
If you have any questions about how Brexit could impact your organisation, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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