Barbican CEO explains why he supports Brexit

Barbican’s David Reeves is one of the few high-profile CEOs in the London Market to openly admit he welcomes the UK’s vote to leave the EU.

He admits that his stance on this particular issue is enough to silence a room in the right circumstances, so pro-Europe is the majority of the market. But he believes some of the reaction to the vote to leave has been bordering on hysterical and that the consequences will be a lot less severe than people believe.

“Yes, I voted for Brexit. I was quite keen to come out of the EU,” he says. “I feel that it has become a super-state that lacks democracy and our laws are now made in a faraway place with no accountability. I voted to leave and I encouraged others to do the same.

“I am not typical of others in the Lloyd’s Market but I am OK with that and I believe there will be little disruption to the market.”

Reeves believes that at a business level, little will change. “We will still have a very strong capital regime, very similar to Solvency II, and most of the laws around that will be copied over. Business will find a way to operate from London. There is too much business structured in that way and that won’t be thrown away by people.”

Barbican writes only a small percentage of its book in Continental Europe. He says the business will retain access by operating through Lloyd’s subsidiary in Brussels.

“I am aware I could live or die by these words but I said when the Brexit vote happened that nothing would have changed in a year and it has not. I may live to regret saying this but I believe little will change once the UK formally leaves.

“Very high levels of regulation will ensure the UK remains attractive. That is why business comes here: we have a strong set of rules and regulations with strong regulators, trusted processes and robust systems. As long as we preserve those, we will be fine.”

This is just a snapshot of a longer feature on David Reeves. To read about his view on Lloyd’s and the insurance sector in the UK, please click here.

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