United Kingdom • • • 🌿 Progressive

Funcionarios financieros del Reino Unido y Suiza se dan la mano ante las banderas de ambos países en Londres
Imagen alusiva: el diálogo financiero entre el Reino Unido y Suiza celebrado en Londres. · EPM

London and Berne launch the Berne financial agreement committee

The United Kingdom and Switzerland held their Financial Dialogue in London on 4 November 2026, with the first meeting of the Berne agreement Joint Committee…

--- The context --- The UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue took place in London on 4 November 2026 and included the first meeting of the Joint Committee on the Berne Financial Services Agreement, which came into force on 1 January this year. According to the joint statement, officials from HM Treasury and the State Secretariat for International Finance were joined by representatives of the respective supervisory authorities of both countries. --- The facts --- Those represented included the Bank of England (BoE), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The delegations updated their macroeconomic outlooks: the United Kingdom reported on the Autumn 2026 Budget, the Government's Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy and the priorities of the FCA and the BoE, while Switzerland reported on its Government's financial services policies. Both sides exchanged information on financial stability, including the ongoing Swiss 'too big to fail' reforms, their respective priorities for the Financial Stability Board and risk resulting from non-bank financial intermediaries. They also discussed the opportunities and stability risks of Artificial Intelligence in financial services, cryptoassets and stablecoins, the Digital Pound and Project Helvetia, the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT), the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), Swiss open finance and sustainable finance. --- The positions --- According to the statement, the Joint Committee, established by Article 23 of the Berne Financial Services Agreement (BFSA), discussed uptake and firm usage of the BFSA and heard supervisory authorities' reflections on its operation. Both sides welcomed the successful implementation of the agreement since its entry into force and agreed to reflect further on its functioning and development ahead of the next Financial Dialogue. The dialogue was followed by a business roundtable led by TheCityUK and the Swiss Bankers Association. --- What remains unknown --- The statement sets out no new concrete measures or implementation timetables for the subjects discussed. It does not specify how firm usage of the agreement will evolve, what avenues for collaboration may open on cryptoassets and stablecoins, or what results will follow from the work on tokenization, disclosures, transition plans, transition finance and sustainability reporting standards that both delegations placed on the table. --- Unanswered questions --- What concrete use are firms already making of the Berne Financial Services Agreement? What priorities will both sides share at the Financial Stability Board? How will collaboration on cryptoassets, stablecoins and Artificial Intelligence take shape without creating new stability risks? What progress will be on the table when the next dialogue is held in Switzerland in the second half of 2027? --- EPM analysis --- Read as a whole, the agenda shows that the bilateral financial relationship is no longer limited to a framework agreement: it covers supervision, innovation and sustainability at the same time. That the Joint Committee met in the first year of the agreement's operation suggests, on the text itself, an intention to review its functioning using evidence of uptake and supervisors' reflections, rather than treating it as settled once it entered into force. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the significance of this dialogue lies in turning a newly effective agreement into a continuing working mechanism, with supervisors at the same table and an agenda that combines stability, digital innovation and sustainable finance. That breadth could support practical cooperation between two financial centres seeking growth without lowering their guard against risk. The test will come from the real use firms make of the agreement and from what both sides decide to develop before the meeting in the second half of 2027.
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