After months listening to the U.K. warn about the risks posed by a no-deal Brexit, European Union (EU) financial regulators are now stepping up plans to avert a market meltdown.

Daniele Nouy, the European Central Bank's (ECB's) head of supervision, set an assuring tone on Thursday when she said the ECB is “ready to help ensure a smooth Brexit—no matter the outcome of the political negotiations.” And she's not alone. The EU's top markets cop called on Brussels to guarantee that the bloc's banks don't lose vital access to London's clearinghouses in a disorderly divorce.

That's a change, because up to now the EU has largely said that preparing for a cliff-edge Brexit, with no transition to give governments and financial firms time to adjust, is the industry's responsibility. Nouy and Steven Maijoor, chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), signaled that EU institutions would take action if needed.