After the Sunset: The Impact of Brexit on EU Market Access for Banks and Investment Firms

The UK’s decision to leave the EU and the potential withdrawal of the UK from the single market triggered unprecedented legal and regulatory issues, particularly for UK-based banks and investment firms. A major consequence of Brexit will be the loss of EU passports for UK-based Institutions that are currently authorised to provide their services across the EEA. This paper examines whether and how UK-based institutions can continue to offer their services within the EU/EEA without the EU passport from a European and German regulatory law perspective. The analysis is based on a ‘hard Brexit’ scenario, which means that the UK will cease to be a Member State, leave the Single Market and will not apply to join the EEA.