Banks and insurers should start preparing for a hard Brexit as the deadline to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU nears, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday.

With only eight months to go before Brexit – 29 March 2019 – the regulator said it was making plans and urged businesses to bolster their own preparations and be ready for a “no deal” scenario.

FCA head of international strategy Nausicca Delfas reportedly spoke at an event held by TheCityUK and said: “Across the FCA, together with colleagues from the Bank of England and the government, we have been working to develop a number of safeguards and contingencies, in the event of a hard Brexit, to ensure that ‘day one’ works smoothly.”

Delfas’ comments come as Brexit secretary Dominic Raab told MPs that the British government was intending to publish some of its guidance for a no deal scenario.

Meanwhile, the EU yesterday published its guidance over what countries, firms and individuals should do to prepare for a hard Brexit, providing emphasis on the impact to supply chains; customs, VAT and excise; rules of origin and exports.

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