Brexit News
There is still no indication of what the Brexit deal will look like, other than the tentative idea of a transition period lasting two years beyond March 2019. This could be a double edged sword for Gibraltar, since it would be good for existing clients who would be guaranteed EU access for longer, but would also prolong uncertainty which makes it difficult to attract new business.
In the absence of any kind of certainty, Gibraltar as a jurisdiction is exploring multiple options and keeping all doors open. The government and GFSC continue to transpose and implement all legislation in a thorough and prompt manner so as to ensure that all EU laws are in place should some form of access to Europe be granted to the UK as far as financial services are concerned. If this does not turn out to be the case, the industry is already exploring the different types of regimes that it could introduce to benefit asset managers outside of the stringent EU framework.
The idea of having a dual regime is also under discussion if third party equivalence can be obtained by the UK and Gibraltar. This would mean that Gibraltar could have an EU compliant regime which would provide access to the EU under third country rules and also a much more flexible non EU compliant regime for managers not concerned with passporting to Europe. This outcome would indeed place the jurisdiction in a good position to be able to cater for a broader scope of asset managers than it does at present, due to the regulatory restrictions imposed by virtue of our EU membership.