Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

UK banking rules face biggest shake-up in more than 30 years

UK banking rules face biggest shake-up in more than 30 years

The government is set to announce what it describes as one of the biggest overhauls of financial regulation for more than three decades.

It is expected to loosen rules on banks introduced after the financial crisis in 2008 when some banks faced collapse.

The changes will be presented as an example of post-Brexit freedom to tailor regulation specifically to the needs and strengths of the UK economy.

Critics will say it risks forgetting the lessons of the financial crisis.

The plans to ease regulations on financial services are being described as a second "Big Bang" - a reference to the deregulation of financial services by Margaret Thatcher's government in 1986.

Rules that forced banks to legally separate their retail lending arms from their riskier investment operations will be reviewed, as will rules governing the hiring, monitoring and sanctioning of senior finance executives.

The government has already announced it will scrap a cap on bankers' bonuses and allow insurance companies to invest in long-term assets like housing and windfarms to boost investment and help its levelling up agenda.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who will announce a package of more than 30 regulatory reforms, said the changes would "unlock investment across our economy to deliver jobs and opportunity for the British people".

"Leaving the EU gives us a golden opportunity to reshape our regulatory regime and unleash the full potential of our formidable financial services sector," he added.

Mr Hunt is set to meet with bosses of the UK's largest financial services in Edinburgh on Friday to discuss the reforms.


Rules review


After the financial crisis of 2008, when the government had to spend billions supporting the UK banking system, a new regime was brought in to increase the personal accountability of senior risk-taking staff.

It allows for fines, bans and even custodial sentences, although there have been very few examples of enforcement.

But City insiders say a major disadvantage it imposes is the lengthy process of getting the movement of senior staff to the UK approved by the regulator - making London less attractive to foreign firms.

Complex rules on how commissions and services, such as research, are paid for will also be reviewed.

After the financial crisis, large banks were forced to separate or "ring fence" their domestic banking operations (mortgages, loans etc) from their investment banking operations (exposing their own cash to market volatility), that were deemed riskier.

The cost of having two separate shock-absorbing cushions of spare money (capital) was deemed by some as placing extra costs on the sector. This may be mentioned in the overhaul, but most of the big banks have spent billions on this ring fencing and are not calling for its reversal.

Reforms of ring fencing are aimed at mid-size banks such as Virgin Money and TSB.

There may also be new rules around bundling investments together into tradeable units - a process called securitisation. This process was instrumental in exacerbating the 2008 financial crisis as no one really knew where the bad debts were located so everyone stopped lending to everyone.

The government will also re-announce more freedom for the pensions and insurance industry to invest in longer term, illiquid (hard to sell quickly) assets - e.g. social housing, windfarms, nuclear - which the government will say helps their levelling up ambitions.

It is worth noting that although this will be billed as a Brexit freedom, the EU is undertaking similar reforms.

There will be some nod to developing the UK as a centre for crypto assets, but with some caveats given the recent bloodbath after the demise of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Most financial industry leaders say they are crypto curious but don't feel the need to be first on this. "Let the shipwrecks of others be your seamarks," said one.


'Jurassic Park of companies'


London's position as the pre-eminent European financial centre has been dented in recent years. London briefly lost its long-time crown of most valuable European stock market to Paris before gains in the pound pushed it narrowly back ahead, while Amsterdam took the title of busiest European share dealing centre.

Leading hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall of Marshall Wace recently described the London financial markets as a "Jurassic Park" of old-fashioned companies and investors, and it has struggled to attract the world's fastest growing companies to list on UK exchanges, often losing out to New York, Shanghai or even Amsterdam.

Labour politicians have criticised the scrapping of the bonus cap and said the UK should not engage in a regulatory race to the bottom, but the government will insist the reforms strike the right balance between stability and innovation.

Others will say that in loosening regulation we risk forgetting the lessons of the financial crisis when excessive risk taking ended in billions in bailouts and a decade of stagnating productivity.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×