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TOPLINE: The European Central Bank’s chief banking supervisor has said that about 20 banks have applied for European banking licences in the wake of the UK’s decision to quit the European Union.

SUMMARY: Danièle Nouy, head of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, said that the “very sad” decision by British citizens had led to more work for eurozone supervisors.

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TOPLINE: Few doubt that the British economy will be severely hurt if the UK leaves the European Union without a new agreement on trade and regulation. But there are risks for the EU, too. One that's received too little attention concerns bank resolution.

SUMMARY: A cliff-edge Brexit could make it much harder for EU authorities to impose losses on investors in the event of bank failure. This, in turn, would put Europe's taxpayers at greater risk.

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It is possible to maintain an “invisible border” in Ireland after Brexit, says the head of the Swiss customs service to House of Lords Committee, IF you have:

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The European Movement UK ran an Action Day on Saturday (4 November) to highlight the need to safeguard the NHS from the threats Brexit poses. The Action Day took place in 19 different locations across the UK.

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TOPLINE: Anecdotal evidence given to IBTimes UK suggests the country's banks are looking to hire more employees in London.

SUMMARY: Leading Swiss Banks including the big two – UBS and Credit Suisse – and boutique private banks such as Julius Baer and Pictet, are actually looking to renew their operational focus and hire employees regardless, and not cut their headcount in London, according to anecdotal evidence given to IBTimes UK in Zurich, Switzerland's leading financial hub.

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TOPLINE: The UK regulator has warned that its financial services firms will start taking irreversible decisions on the location of operations and staff in the next couple of months, if the UK and EU fail to agree a transition deal as part of Brexit negotiations.

SUMMARY: Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said UK companies will start making firm Brexit contingency plans at the end of this year and into the beginning of 2018. 

Speaking to a Treasury Select Committee, Mr Bailey said: “We tend to take the view that the end of this year, beginning of next year, is the point at which these things start happening.” He added that financial services need a firm commitment to a transition deal.

According to a report from the BBC, the Bank of England (BoE) believes 75,000 financial sector jobs could be lost when the UK leaves the European Union.

The BBC reports that the exact number will depend on the trading deal between the EU and UK, and in particular the position of financial services post-Brexit.

Banks and other major financial institutions have been asked to provide the BoE with contingency plans, should the two sides fail to reach a deal and the UK reverts to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Under WTO trading rules, UK financial services firms would lose EU passporting rights unless they have set up an EU-registered company.

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TOPLINE: Sam Woods, told a House of Lords select committee that having a bilateral agreement within the withdrawal bill was the central bank’s preferred option to ensure derivative contracts and insurance policies can still be serviced.

SUMMARY: UK banks hold around £20tn worth of notional derivatives contracts with a cross-border EU element, or around one-fifth of their overall holdings, Mr Woods said, with European banks holding roughly the same amount with UK entities.

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I am a freelance classical musician. My work takes me all over the globe but the vast majority of mine and my colleagues’ work takes place within the EU. For us the ramifications of Brexit, and in particular the hard Brexit which the government seems keen to enact, are very serious as the cessation of freedom of movement is likely to render us uncompetitive at best and unemployable at worst.

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