Adds detail throughout
EU designated 19 tech firms as critical in November
Deal would seek to reduce risks from cyberattacks and web outages
UK rules took effect at the start of last year
By Phoebe Seers and Lawrence White
LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - British financial regulators, including the Bank of England, have signed an outline deal with their European counterparts to enhance cooperation and oversight of providers deemed critical to the financial services sector, the BoE said on Wednesday.
The memorandum of understanding aims to boost cross-border oversight of cloud services providers and other tech firms, to reduce risks to the financial sector from cyberattacks and web outages.
In November, the European Union designated 19 tech firms as critical to the financial sector, including cloud services providers Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure as well as IBM IBM.N, London Stock Exchange Group LSEG.L and Tata Consultancy Services TCS.NS.
The rules hand regulators powers to examine whether these companies have the right risk management and governance frameworks in place to ensure the services they provide will remain resilient.
Wednesday's announcement coincides with a visit to Brussels by UK financial services minister Lucy Rigby, who is to meet with European Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luis Albuquerque to push for closer EU-UK cooperation on financial services.
Closer ties between Britain and the European Union have been the subject of conflicting media reports in recent days, reflecting ongoing divisions in Britain following its 2016 decision to leave the bloc.
Financial services are not part of a 2025 UK-EU reset deal, but Rigby and the Commissioner will discuss areas for cooperation "where it is in our economy's interest," the finance ministry said.
Equivalent UK rules came into effect at the start of last year, but Britain's finance ministry has yet to designate a single provider.
Despite this, a person familiar with the BoE's thinking said the cooperation agreement with the EU can still take effect.
The person who spoke on condition of anonymity said the agreement on cooperation was "regardless of whether they are operating in the UK or not."
Rigby has previously said that tech firms will be brought within the UK regime later this year.
(Reporting by Muvija M, writing by Sarah Young; editing by David Milliken and Barbara Lewis)
((sarah.young@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 1109; Reuters Messaging: sarah.young.thomsonreuters@reuters.net/))