Thursday 21 March 2019 1:27 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:32 am

More than 1,000 EU firms sign up to maintain access to the City in a no-deal Brexit

More than 1,000 EU firms have taken up the UK’s offer of continued access to the City in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s international director Nausicaa Delfas said the watchdog was “pleased” with the uptake and that fund managers representing thousands of funds had also signed up to the temporary recognition scheme (TPR).

The scheme allows EU firms to continue passporting – conducting business – into the UK for a period of three years after a no-deal Brexit.

But Delfas said companies had just one more week to sign up to the scheme in case the UK left the bloc on 29 March.

Once the window closes, the firms will be given a “landing slot”- a date by which they will have to submit a full application, with the first slots being in October this year and the last in March 2021.

The financial watchdog director said there was still no equivalent scheme for UK firms who passport into the EU but that individual member states, such as Germany, Spain and France, had implemented arrangements.

She added that while there was still uncertainty, the FCA was committed to maintaining London’s position as a “successful global financial centre.”

“While we have all done what we can to ensure as far as possible a smooth transition, we cannot rule out some disruption and volatility,” she said at a Brexit conference.