The UK is raising pressure on financial regulators to do more to boost growth, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces criticism of the country’s business climate.
(Bloomberg) — The UK is raising pressure on financial regulators to do more to boost growth, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces criticism of the country’s business climate.
The Treasury is requesting proposals on how its financial regulators can improve the UK’s international competitiveness, City minister Andrew Griffith said in a statement. The government wants the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority to take steps to fulfill obligations imposed in the wake of the UK’s exit from the European Union to build a more growth-friendly regulatory framework.
“I’d like ideas from industry, the regulators themselves and other stakeholders on which regularly published metrics will best chart our way to the outcomes we seek of higher growth and growing international market share,” said Griffith, the Treasury’s economic secretary. “Just as we successfully export our regulatory know-how to the world, I’d also like to learn from what competitor international financial center jurisdictions use as their yardsticks of success.”
Sunak is under pressure to make good on his pledge to grow the economy this year, as he prepares for a general election that must before held no later than January 2025. Labour leader Keir Starmer has sought to court the business community in a bid to demonstrate the party is ready to lead after 13 years in opposition.
At the same time, the government has been buffeted by high-profile criticism that the UK isn’t friendly to investment or innovation. Last week, the co-founders of Revolut said the London-based neobank wouldn’t consider a public offering in the City after waiting more than a year for a licensing decision by the PRA.
“This is not the business environment to operate in the modern world,” Chief Executive Officer Nik Storonsky told the Times of London newspaper.
UK Government Faces Fresh Calls to Scrutinize Regulators
Griffith said he wanted to address “anecdotal stories of slow authorization and decisions” in financial regulation that runs from reinsurance to crypto. “A good outcome will be a proportionate set of metrics which strike the right balance between high-quality regulation and the agility and focus on growth and competitiveness that the sector needs,” he said.
–With assistance from Tom Metcalf.
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