CBI responds the Chancellor’s ‘Edinburgh Reforms’ of the financial services sector

Flora Hamilton, CBI Director of Financial Services, said:

“The Chancellor is absolutely right to use his ‘Edinburgh Reforms’ of the financial services sector as an opportunity to drive UK growth, alongside taking sensible precautions to protect consumers, businesses and financial stability.

“Reforming the ringfencing regime for banks, bringing a broader range of investment-related cryptoasset activities into UK regulation and overhauling the UK’s regulation of prospectuses can all help build a more dynamic, competitive and future-focused financial sector that will deliver gains for the whole UK economy.

“While bringing forward secondary legislation to implement the Wholesale Markets Review reforms - as well as confirming the early 2023 publication of the Green Finance Strategy – are welcome moves, firms remain concerned about a lack of policy clarity and absence of public consultation on the future of the UK Taxonomy.

“The Chancellor’s decision to bring industry experts together to determine the opportunities and risks associated with divergence represents a sensible approach to the post-Brexit regulatory environment in financial services. Developing this cooperative approach across the economy will support a new regulatory approach, one more geared towards delivering better result for consumers, for the environment, and ultimately the economy.”