Professional services giant PwC, based in the City of London, claimed the bloc “needs London” because of the UK’s position on the world stage.
And John Garvey, PwC’s global head of financial services stressed any deal on financial equivalence would happen in the long term.
Responding to comments made by the EU’s Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness, Mr Garvey said: “There’s going to be a strange relationship developing over time where the Europeans realise they need London.
“I know there probably is an appetite on the UK side for us to sit down and get going.
“We are certainly very keen to do that, but we’re not under pressure to do it.”
Ms McGuinness said on Friday that Brussels wasn’t under any pressure to help City firms access its market.
Brussels and London agreed to a memorandum of understanding last month, which acknowledged that talks between regulators would help satisfy the EU’s concerns.
This would make Brussels more likely to grant market access to British firms, which is referred to as equivalence in a post-Brexit financial services deal.
A new review by PwC said the UK was now the fourth most attractive growth target to global CEOs due to its post-Brexit position.
The review, which surveyed 5,050 CEOs in 100 countries and territories in January and February 2021, revealed 11 percent of CEOs globally selected the UK as one of their top three targets, up from 9 percent in 2019.
Kevin Ellis, Chairman and Senior Partner at PwC UK, said: “The findings are a vote of confidence in certainty and stability, which have undoubtedly increased on the trade front.”