On Thursday morning Reuters hosted a Newsmaker event in London with Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. The event was moderated by Reuters Editor-at-Large Axel Threlfall and Andrew Bailey was introduced by Jan-Coos Geesink, Managing Director and Global Head of Sales and Marketing for Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk. In his first major speech on Brexit since Britain triggered the formal EU divorce proceedings in March, highlights included: - Bailey said that "...we cannot take open markets, freedom of location and free trade for granted. Firms should be able to take their own decisions on where they locate, subject to appropriate regulatory arrangements being in place which preserve the public interest." - "Does Brexit have to mean abandoning the benefits of free trade and open markets in financial services?", he asked. "It should not.", he said. - On the Single Market, Bailey said "Does it require membership of the Single Market to get the benefits of free trade with the EU? No." - He concluded that "...arguing that Brexit should not mean an end to open financial markets does not amount to special pleading for the financial services industry. That is not my job. Rather, my job is to achieve good financial conduct which includes the integrity of markets, the fair treatment of consumers and ensuring effective competition." You can follow more of the discussion on Twitter by searching #ReutersLive. Watch the full Reuters Newsmaker here . Media Contact: Pete dot Biggs at thomsonreuters dot com [Reuters PR Blog Post]
