The UK’s departure from the EU, Brexit, will take place one year from now on 29 March 2019. Based on the latest information on the negotiations, the UK’s departure will be followed by a transitional period lasting until the end of 2020, but how ‘hard’ Brexit will end up being is still a subject of speculation. Save some kind of miracle, the UK will completely depart the EU internal market at the latest after the end of the transitional period, at which point the UK will from a regulatory standpoint become an outside state comparable to the USA.
23.3.2018
Brexit to Drive Financial Sector onto the Continent
Janne Lauha
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From the perspective of the financial and insurance markets, this will mean that thousands of investment firms, funds, banks and insurance companies will lose the right to offer their services from the EU to the UK and vice versa.
London will remain one of the world’s largest financial centres after Brexit, but regulations will complicate the financial sector’s operations in the EU. Financial sector companies will have to establish and obtain licences for subsidiaries on the continent. Many companies have already begun this process. It will take time for a political understanding to become a binding agreement, and the transitional period involves many uncertainties. This has led many supervisory authorities to require that applications for EU operating licences be submitted by the end of June this year.
Just having a mailbox in continental Europe will not be enough, as the EU’s financial supervisory authorities are taking a harder line towards screen companies. The EU requires that subsidiaries have real business operations and responsible personnel residing in the EU. It will not be possible to run a company remotely from the UK.
Brexit and other market changes and regulatory projects affecting the EU’s financial sector are no doubt causing many of our clients a great deal of concern. We are a strategic advisor that understands our clients’ business and can help them navigate this shifting regulatory landscape and identify the opportunities that these changes will bring.
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Latest references
Taaleri – Acquisition of a majority stake in Nordic Science Investments
We are acting as legal adviser to Taaleri Plc on its acquisition of a 51 per cent ownership stake in Nordic Science Investments Oy (NSI), marking Taaleri’s expansion into deeptech-driven venture capital. Through the transaction, Taaleri broadens its private equity offering into early-stage venture capital funds as well as the commercialisation and scaling of research-driven innovations. NSI is a Finnish venture capital fund manager operating across the Nordic and Baltic regions, focusing on early-stage investments in research- and science-based technologies. Its portfolio companies develop, among other things, health technologies, life sciences, advanced materials and AI-driven solutions. In addition to providing growth capital, NSI supports spin-out companies with strategic guidance, access to networks and assistance in building teams during the early phases of business development. NSI’s first fund, the EUR 45 million NSI Nordic Science I Ky, was established in 2024 and has to date invested in 22 early-stage companies in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Taaleri is a specialist in investments, private asset management and non-life insurance, with a strong position in renewable energy, bioindustry and housing investments as well as credit risk insurance. Taaleri has EUR 2.7 billion of assets under management in its private equity funds, co-investments and single-asset vehicles, employs approximately 130 people and is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. The founders of NSI will continue in their operational roles following the transaction. The completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the FIN-FSA.
Case published 13.4.2026
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We advised Aktia Bank Plc on the issuance of an EUR 80 million Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bond. The bond pays a fixed interest rate of 6.75 per cent semi-annually. The bond is perpetual, and Aktia has the right to redeem or repurchase it in accordance with the terms of the bond, subject to certain conditions. The bond was issued on 1 April 2026. In addition, we assisted Aktia in listing the bond on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd stock exchange. For the listing, we prepared Finland’s first EU Follow-on prospectus for a bond. The EU Follow-on prospectus was introduced on 5 March 2026 with an update to the Prospectus Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1129. The EU Follow-on prospectus is a new type of prospectus that can be used, among others, by issuers whose securities have been admitted to trading on a regulated market continuously for at least the 18 months preceding the offer to the public or the admission to trading on a regulated market of the new securities. A follow-on prospectus is simpler than a so-called traditional prospectus, and it is intended to avoid repeating information that the issuer has already disclosed. Nordea Bank Abp acts as the sole structuring advisor for the issue of the Notes. Nordea Bank Abp, Danske Bank A/S and ABN Amro Bank N.V. act as the lead managers for the issue of the Notes.
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