One year after the launch of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, the Government has published an update. It notes key achievements of the past year as:
- putting the FSM Bill before Parliament, with the main aims of streamlining the regulatory framework, reducing duplication and making regulation more proportionate;
- deepening international partnerships, and launching the Office for Investment to attract overseas investment to the financial services sector;
- finalising the new cryptoasset regulatory regime and progressing work on digital markets;
- delivering pension, retail investment and capital market reform;
- addressing the need to ensure talent continues to be available; and
- supporting regional clusters.
Examples of change include:
- 382 “minded to approve” notices from the FCA last year, to help firms seek investment when looking to set up in the UK;
- reforms to the bank capital framework;
- completed and planned reforms to cut the costs of reporting and the SMCR;
- changing the scope of the Consumer Duty to disapply to wholesale business;
- planned reforms for the fund management and captive insurance regimes;
- streamlining the sustainable finance regulatory framework;
- many bilateral international cooperation agreements; and
- initiatives to leverage the UK’s FinTech leadership and for the UK to lead the way in digital assets.