Brexit and Financial Services – How will Leaving the EU Impact on Fiscal and Forex Education Institutions?
While Brexit appears to have polarised opinion like few other political issues in living memory, there are some things that all parties can agree on. One of these is the fact that leaving the EU will have a seminal impact on the UK’s prosperous financial services market, which is worth around $500 billion and based primarily in the city of London.
While it’s hard to determine precisely how exiting the EU will impact on our financial services sector, it’s fair to surmise that there will be a considerable amount of disruption (especially in the near-term). This applies to both the value of this market and its numerous, often underrated sectors, including the delivery of higher financial education to aspiring traders.
In this article, we’ll look at the likely impact of Brexit on the financial services sector, paying particularly attention to higher fiscal education in the UK.
Brexit and Financial Services – Here are the Headlines
We’ve already said that the financial services sector has a cumulative value of around $500 billion in the UK, making Britain the heartbeat of this vast and diverse marketplace. This is just the tip of a large and important iceberg, however, and one that the UK can ill-afford to let sink if it’s to enjoy its independence in the post-Brexit landscape.
In total, financial services employs more than one million people in the UK, including the highest paid workers in the whole of the country. The market also accounted for more than 7% of the value created by the UK economy in the second quarter of 2017, while this number is poised to increase incrementally over time.
Post Brexit, the financial services sector will also prove crucial if the UK is to optimise its GDP growth as new trade deals are struck. After all, services account for around 79% of Britain’s total exports in the real-time economy, with much of this dominated by the financial sector. Conversely, just 21% of exports are products, so there would be a significant void to fill if the UK’s financial services market share was diminished after leaving the EU (which would be likely in the instance that no deal is struck between the two parties).
Post-Brexit Blues? What About Higher Financial Education?
Given these facts, the impact of Brexit on higher financial education would appear to be a relatively small consideration. This niche is crucial if Britain is to produce the next generation of financial market traders, however, so it’s important to appraise how leaving the EU would impact on the delivery of fiscal education.
In truth, there would be unlikely to be a significant change in the immediate wake of Brexit. After all, the UK has already committed to a significant transition period once it has left the EU on March 29th, 2019, during which time all European Law will be transposed into UK law. This means that online forex brokers and higher education providers will be able to continue trading under identical terms, while retaining the same industry accreditations and certifications.
Over time, however, the government will begin to repeal supposedly less favourable EU laws, in a bid to suit overarching UK policy and drive the nation’s economic growth. In the case of financial services, this may well see sustained de-regulation throughout the market, as the Conservatives look to create a more competitive marketplace that appeals to overseas firms. So, while this may see EU firms relocate and move away from the capital, the idea is that this void be replaced with service providers and platform from outside of the union.
In the case of higher financial education platforms, this has the potential to create a cluttered market space with intense competition. Although de-regulation would mean that established and certified providers would be able to continue as per usual, there is a chance that high quality and reputable course could be undermined by cheaper alternatives that lack the requisite regulations.
This would be potentially damaging for both reputable teachers and aspiring forex traders, as there would be less guarantee that the latter were receiving the right education to help them achieve their goals and comply with international law.
The Last Word
Ultimately, it’s impossible to determine how Brexit will impact on the financial services sector and higher fiscal education at the current time. Much will depend on the nature of the UK’s exit, and whether or not we left with a mutually-beneficial deal that included safeguards for prominent industries or exited with absolutely nothing.
For now, however, there is no harm in speculating or helping firms to prepare for numerous different scenarios that may unfold after March 29th next year.
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