Cliff-edge Brexit: a “large economic shock” and “idle bankers”

A fissure between analyses of the impact of a hard Brexit on financial markets has opened up across the English Channel. British regulators believe the smooth functioning of the transition is being put at risk, reports Esther Martin.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned of “a large economic shock” if there is a hard Brexit and called out the European Union for not addressing its side of risks to insurance and derivatives contracts when the United Kingdom leaves. “It’s cold comfort but it will be worse in Europe than it is here,” he told the Treasury Select Committee on 17 July.