Simon Goldie, Director of Business Finance & Advocacy
As well as last week’s Mansion House Speech, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, set out a series of measures known as the ‘Leeds Reforms’ – the detail of which was provided by an HM Treasury document, listing the changes that the Government wants to introduce to deliver growth and competitiveness.
The strategy focuses on five areas:
- Delivering a competitive regulatory environment
- Harnessing the UK’s global leadership in financial services
- Embracing innovation and leveraging the UK’s Fintech leadership
- Building a retail investment culture and delivering prosperity through UK capital markets
- Setting the UK’s financial services sector up with the skills and talent it needs
Included in these are significant changes to the workings of the Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Ombudsman Service, which Stephen Haddrill, FLA Director General, has described in a previous post as a turning point in the regulatory landscape.
The Government has also committed to making sure that the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s implementation of the Basel 3.1 requirements work for business and not against it. They have also reaffirmed their commitment to sustainable finance, with an agenda to ensure that ESG and sustainability reporting are consistent and appropriate. As part of this, the Government has committed to supporting transition finance, a key part of any move to decarbonisation.
The FLA has been at the centre of all these conversations, and in many cases has been the leading voice for change. So, we while welcome the Government’s commitments, are disappointed that we will not see a UK Green Taxonomy developed.
Many of the Government’s announcements are about the creation of bodies to drive change. As the adage says: “The Devil is in the Detail”. We will have to see what these bodies do and whether they can deliver.
Overall, the picture is positive – the regulatory landscape has been in need of an overhaul for many years, the lack of certainty on net zero policy has led to drift and the complex reporting rules have caused stasis.
Now we have Government agreement for these policies, we will work with officials, to provide industry insights on how best to achieve their objectives.