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BOE Regulator Says Freedom From EU Could Improve Bank Oversight

BOE Regulator Says Freedom From EU Could Improve Bank Oversight

(Bloomberg) -- Leaving the European Union could help Britain ward off emerging threats to the financial system, according to the top U.K. bank regulator at the Bank of England.

A “British-style” of oversight with less detailed rules written in legislation and more flexibility granted to regulators would help authorities respond to threats, said Sam Woods, deputy governor of the BOE and chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority. He spoke in a Bloomberg TV interview with Anna Edwards.

BOE Regulator Says Freedom From EU Could Improve Bank Oversight

“If and when we actually exit the EU, I don’t see a compelling reason to continue with the EU28 method of regulating,” Woods said. “It would be worth having a look at the idea of going back to a more British-style of regulation which is still tough but has less detail in legislation and is more dynamic and forward looking.”

Woods called a change in the style of regulation a “potential upside” after Brexit. U.K. authorities were criticized after the financial crisis a decade ago for their light-touch regulation, and the BOE subsequently assumed a much bigger role in oversight. Woods said the U.K. must retain high standards.

To contact the reporters on this story: Silla Brush in London at sbrush@bloomberg.net;Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint, David Goodman

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