The City of London Corporation has embarked on a sweeping review of regulations for financial services in the UK as it seeks to boost the Square Mile’s competitiveness.
The governing authority for London’s financial centre will push for further regulatory reforms in financial and professional services, focusing on tech and innovation, sustainable finance and ensuring that the City is competitive with global rivals, such as New York.
The British government outlined an overhaul of the UK financial services sector, dubbed the Edinburgh reforms, late last year. It aims to revamp pre-Brexit era regulations, as well as establishing a digital currency in the UK and loosening constraints on the British banking sector.
After a year of political upheaval and with an election now likely next year, the City is aiming to produce a review that it hopes will engage all political parties, as well as industry and regulators.
The corporation said that it will focus on reviewing the legislative and regulatory framework, alongside tax reforms and ways to develop and retain talented workers.
The review will be co-chaired by City of London Corporation’s policy chair Chris Hayward and Lord Mayor Nick Lyons, who has had a long career in the London insurance industry.
Hayward told an annual City dinner on Wednesday that “the UK stands at a crossroads . . . faced with increasing global competition, we need a long-term sense of direction, a programme for government, regulators, and industry to act and sustain our global powerhouse status”.
The corporation said that the Edinburgh reforms and the Financial Services Market bill, currently going through parliament, were “a welcome start” to boosting the sector, which would “benefit from long-term direction to reinforce and renew its global position, and ensure it can continue to deliver a healthy return to the UK economy”.
It added: “This is a critical moment in the political cycle when there is opportunity to influence thinking and catalyse reform that will continue well into the next Parliament and beyond.”
The corporation said that Brexit, the pandemic and the political upheaval of the last year had “soaked up immense energy”, and investors were already looking at opportunities in other financial centres.
City minister Andrew Griffith, who was expected to attend the dinner, said: “This vision aligns with our Edinburgh reforms which take forward the government’s ambition to be the world’s most innovative, open and competitive financial centre.”
A key part of the review will be to develop the City’s role in the transition to net zero, and identifying areas for investment and competitive strengths where the UK can beat other global financial centres.
Hayward said: “We believe that this vision will drive economic growth for the remainder of the decade and beyond, will pave a path to prosperity for decades to come, and will secure the UK’s position as the leading financial capital for the next generation.”
