London financial centre hopes to rebuild bridges with EU

The UK has got almost nowhere trying to win equivalence agreements from the EU since Brexit.

An agreement would be a rare fillip for the City of London, which last year lost the top spot among Europe’s stock markets.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s deal to solve the bitter dispute with the EU over Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements has sparked hope in the City of London that the two sides could finally formalise a pledge to work together on setting rules for banks and financial markets. 

Delayed for two years as other battles rage, the financial agreement is expected to gather fresh momentum if the so-called Windsor Framework gets passed by the UK parliament.