Irish Central Bank Warns U.K. Asset Managers on Brexit Access

(Bloomberg) -- Ireland’s central bank warned U.K. investment funds selling into Ireland not to market products there or in the rest of the EU after Brexit.

The regulator, based in Dublin, wrote to 53 U.K. mutual funds known as UCITS warning them they will lose the right to sell access to their funds in Ireland and the EU after the U.K. becomes a so-called third country outside the bloc, the regulator said in an email response to questions.

Europe is seeking to ensure that it will continue to have oversight of asset managers, and regulators have warned that “letterbox entities,” nominally based in Europe but managed from abroad, will not be tolerated. The Irish regulator has consistently said so-called brass-plate operations aren’t welcome. Firms authorized in Ireland here must be run from there, the regulator insists.

The 53 funds had all previously informed the central bank it intended to market its units to Irish investors under EU rules, the regulator said. The letter informed the funds they “will lose their right to market units in other member states of the EU including Ireland” when the U.K. exits the bloc.

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