Britain’s call for the European Union to widen its system of financial market access after Brexit won’t be met anytime soon, a senior German finance ministry official has said, Reuters reported.

The system is used by banks in the United States, Singapore and Japan to offer some services directly to clients in the EU without the need for a costly subsidiary on the ground.

But it does not cover some common banking activities, such as lending and asset management, which Britain and its financial sector want to be able to carry out after Brexit.

Levin Holle, director general of financial markets policy in Germany’s finance ministry, said the existing equivalence regime is already being adapted to reflect Brexit by increasing supervision of foreign clearing houses.

France, Germany and other EU states are competing to attract financial firms from Britain.

Holle said the EU could take key equivalence decisions regarding Britain by the end of 2020, the end of a planned “standstill” transition period during which Britain would continue to abide by EU rules.