UK and US regulators build Brexit ‘bridge’ for derivatives

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Pedestrians walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain June 28, 2016.

Britain and the United States said on Monday that their regulators are taking every step needed to ensure that trillions of dollars in derivatives contracts traded across the Atlantic will not be disrupted by any type of Brexit.

Derivatives are widely used by companies to hedge themselves against unexpected moves in borrowing costs or prices for raw materials.

“Market participants can be confident that the clearing and trading of derivatives between the UK and U.S. will maintain the high standards of today when the UK leaves the EU,” Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in a statement.

Currently, derivatives trading in Britain conforms to rules written by the European Union, the trading bloc that the United Kingdom is due to leave on March 29.

U.S. and UK regulators told reporters on Monday that the trading and clearing of derivatives transactions in London and New York, two markets that dominate the global sector, would continue under a similar set of rules once Brexit takes place.