Regulators will have to promote the global competitiveness of Britain’s financial sector or could face mandatory reviews of their rules, U.K. finance minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Tuesday.
Amsterdam has already overtaken London as Europe’s top share trading centre, prompting Britain to ease listing rules as it tries to persuade chip-maker Arm to have a U.K. listing. “Consumers will remain protected, with legislation ensuring that victims of scams can be compensated while also acting to protect access to cash for the millions of people that rely on it,” Zahawi told a Mansion House audience in the historic City of London financial district.
Nevertheless, some lawmakers fear this could herald a return to “light touch” regulation which ended with banks being bailed out in the financial crisis. Lawmakers have said this should be done sparingly, but Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned last week the independence of regulators was part of London’s standing as a global financial centre.Caroline Wagstaff, chief executive of the London Market Group, which represents the insurance market, said the new law would turbocharge the sector only if the competitiveness objective for regulators has real teeth.
A government-sponsored review on Tuesday set out recommendations to speed up how listed companies can tap markets for extra funding, and Zahawi said all of them have been accepted by the government.