UK Treasury announces ‘Edinburgh Reforms’ to financial services sector

Commenting on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s speech today in Edinburgh on financial services industry reforms, CSA Chief Executive Chris Leslie said: “Most of the reforms announced today are a collection of changes aimed at enhancing the UK’s banking sector competitiveness following Brexit. Pressure has been on Ministers to illustrate a post-Brexit ‘regulatory dividend’ of the decoupling from EU rules and so reform of the insurance sector’s Solvency II regime and a review of Mifid II in respect of research regulation should be viewed in that regard. 

"However, the Chancellor and his City Minister Andrew Griffith have gone further and are changing some of the rules introduced after the global financial crisis, most significantly on capital requirements. 

For our sector, the talk of a less stringent senior managers’ regime (SMCR) will be worth watching. And clearly, we’ll be taking a close look at the implications for members of the government’s consultation on CCA reform, which has been released alongside the Chancellor’s Edinburgh Reforms. However, there is as yet no signal from Ministers that there will be any slowdown on the FCA’s ‘Consumer Duty’ plans, which remain the principal compliance focus for many firms ahead of this summer’s implementation.”