These activities raise a number of significant issues. When I think about the evolution of supervision and regulation of these activities, I ask myself whether the rules are clear in the current rapidly evolving environment, and whether the rules as they evolve are serving a legitimate prudential purpose. Banks seek to understand and comply with rules because, above all, they value predictability and consistency.
The first quarter of this year has been named by many in the financial industry as a point of no return for pushing the button on their Brexit contingency plans. In my view, this is still a fair estimate.