Brexit and a Banking Regulation for Small Banks and Building Societies: A New Means of Re-kindling the Comparative (and Economic) Analysis of Law?! 

Brexit, a complex and controversial phenomenon, is often discredited on this side of the English Channel. By contrast, it should pave the way to new horizons for economic-comparative legal analysis. The United Kingdom, now a real “sovereign state,” is about to issue new rules, recommended by the Bank of England, in the matter of banking regulation, particularly building societies or, mutatis mutandis, cooperative banks, to use the “Continental” jargon. On the other hand, the EU remains stubbornly anchored to the principle of “One Size Fits All,” a “mantra” in its initial guise, more recently a Damocles’ sword that hangs on the head of several medium-small banks.
In view of this prospective scenario, the paper aims to analyse, also from an economic viewpoint, the new UK rules, as well as the benefits that they could have, in a truly comparative perspective, in the aftermath of “Brexit.” Ultimately, a new proportionate “architecture” of the banking system in the EU, as far as banks are concerned, is instrumental in preventing the demise of the different banking businesses. Paradoxically, the results of the work, beyond the merit of the legal analysis relating to the new British legal framework, shows not only that the regulation is “alive and kicking,” but also that its dual interpretation, where the economic impact is taken into account, is necessary in order to avoid what probably is the dearth of vision of the current European Financial Legislation.