The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently announced that they will collaborate more closely. This should better protect and improve the integrity and stability of the financial system in both countries. The agreement between the British and Dutch regulators was signed last Monday, 3 June. Since the United Kingdom announced its intention to leave the EU, several financial companies that are currently active in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have applied for a permit to work in both countries. Close cooperation and exchange of information between the FCA and AFM is therefore important for the development of international financial markets and for effective supervision of both companies and capital markets.
The agreement builds on the existing good relationship between the British and Dutch regulators. Merel van Vroonhoven, retiring chairman of the AFM, explains it as follows: “We look forward to working together more. We see British financial companies coming to the Netherlands, particularly internationally regulated markets, trading platforms and traders. Their choice for the Netherlands naturally influences our capital markets and trading infrastructure. Closer cooperation with the FCA puts us in a better position to protect investors and capital markets. ”
Andrew Bailey, CEO of the FCA: “Our relationship with the AFM has always been good and that is further reinforced by this agreement. Given the increasing intertwining of the financial markets, a close relationship with regulators in other countries contributes to the protection of consumers and the maintenance of our overview of companies and markets. ”
In addition to information exchange, the FCA and AFM will share so-called “best practice approaches” with each other. They are also looking for opportunities for secondment between supervisors and additional training opportunities. An important detail with regard to the Brexit is that the agreement applies to both a “deal” and a “no deal” scenario, which complements the multilateral memorandum of understanding between EU supervisors and the FCA published in February.
