Brexit

The divorcees are taking back collaboration and that's good news for capital markets

The UK's new regulatory freedom is, in theory, an opportunity to remove onerous regulations, but divergence from the European Union will bring complications for some deals, and it’s not clear whether the government is set to rewrite the rule book in favour of market development

As the Treasury’s radical mini-budget weakens confidence in the UK economy, markets see little benefit in an ideological approach to financial regulation

Market shock should warn the government: think harder about economics

Sunak and Truss must remember that regulation is there to suppress risk, not growth

Leveraged finance bankers say they have a substantial deal pipeline in sterling to execute this autumn, while the UK's fall into political chaos threatens market volatility. Sub-investment grade buyers are likely to be offered buyout debt for Ei Group, Merlin and BCA Marketplace, among a flood of business totalling at least £15bn ($18.5bn), writes Owen Sanderson.

UK capital markets are once again in flux and in the dark over the country’s future, as new prime minister Boris Johnson vowed to take the UK out of the European Union on October 31 “do or die”, write Sam Kerr, Tyler Davies and Owen Sanderson.

London’s capital markets are again under threat of severe disruption as the UK’s clown prince in chief, Boris Johnson, became prime minister this week.

The EMEA IPO market has performed solidly in the first half of 2019, with high growth propositions in particular outperforming. Nevertheless, with disparate year-to-date returns between offerings and geopolitical tensions likely to surface in the autumn, sellers will act with heightened caution when the market reopens in September, writes Sam Kerr.

UK capital markets issuers and investors who want to do deals need to prepare to ignore Brexit and come to market. There is no sense in waiting for political calm — the European election result shows it simply is not going to come.

The decision by the European Union and UK on Wednesday night to extend the country’s membership of the bloc until October 31 prolongs the uncertainty that is deterring UK companies from attempting IPOs.

Equity bankers expected clarity about Brexit by this week, for better or worse, and had hoped to start work again on UK IPO projects. But further delays and political uncertainty have swept these deals back to the sidelines.

Mersen, a French technology manufacturer, will not accept bids from UK-based lenders for its new Schuldschein “in anticipation of a potential Brexit”. Three bankers away from the transaction said they have also discussed excluding UK lenders with other borrowers.

There was a dark mood in equity markets on Wednesday morning after the UK parliament rejected prime minister Theresa May’s negotiated Brexit withdrawal agreement by a huge majority for a second time. A possible delay to the UK's departure from the EU and all of the crippling uncertainty that entails is set to continue to hamstring equity capital markets.

The £200m ($262.56m) listing of Global Sustainability Trust, a London socially responsible investing (SRI) private equity vehicle, has been postponed due to negative market conditions — primarily the political chaos surrounding the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU).

Trading platform operator Tradeweb has received regulatory approvals to operate trading venues from Amsterdam as it solidifies its preparations for Brexit.

Mizuho International said it had hired Christoph Seibel, head of EMEA corporate debt capital markets at RBC Capital Markets, to be chief executive of its EU operations, Mizuho Securities Europe.

Twenty-seven universal banks, investment banks and brokerages have confirmed or are considering moving operations or staff from the UK to the rest of the EU, according to EY. Paris is gaining in popularity as a destination for UK financial services firms, but Dublin appears to be the top choice.

The European Commission has finally confirmed that it will grant temporary equivalence to UK central counterparty clearing houses (CCPs) and central securities depositories (CSDs) in the event of a no deal Brexit.

Investors are moving to abandon UK assets in record numbers as the country’s government continues to stumble towards a calamitous no-deal Brexit. The government should take notice and reverse to avoid disaster.

SEC chairman Jay Clayton warned the US Senate Committee on Banking about risks to US capital markets from Brexit, in a hearing conducted on Tuesday.

Rising hopes that the UK can escape the nightmare of Brexit are misplaced. A second referendum would carry huge risks, and even if the outcome were Remain, it would leave an unstable Britain with a damaged relationship with the rest of the EU.

The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Thursday seemed to side with the Bank of England in demanding more clarity from European authorities on how they plan to alleviate post-Brexit derivatives disruption.

The Council of the European Union has approved its final version of a controversial legislative proposal that seeks to overhaul the bloc’s oversight of clearing houses.