- Legislation to enhance the competitiveness of UK financial
services and unlock growth and investment across the UK was
introduced to Parliament today (20thJuly).
- The Financial Services and Markets Bill repeals hundreds of
pieces of EU retained law to enable a coherent, agile and
internationally respected regime that works in the interests of
the British people.
- Consumers will be protected through legislation safeguarding
access to cash for generations to come and enabling the Payment
Systems Regulator to direct banks to reimburse victims of
Authorised Push Payment fraud.
Legislation to enhance the competitiveness of the UK financial
services sector and unlock tens of billions of pounds of
investment across the UK economy was introduced to Parliament
today (Wednesday 20 July).
The Financial Services and Markets Bill repeals hundreds of
pieces of EU retained law to deliver a comprehensive model of
regulation for the UK – establishing a coherent, agile and
internationally respected approach to financial services
regulation that works in the interests of British people and
businesses.
The Bill will implement the government’s vision for the sector
that is open, green, technologically advanced and globally
competitive – while maintaining high levels of consumer
protection.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:
“Today is a landmark day for financial services in the
UK.
“Through the introduction of this Bill, we are repealing
hundreds of pieces of burdensome EU regulations and seizing on
the benefits of Brexit to ensure the financial sector works in
the interests of British people and businesses”
The Bill implements the outcomes of the Future Regulatory
Framework Review, giving the financial regulators greater
responsibility for setting the requirements for UK financial
services, and for the first time, a new secondary objective to
promote the growth and competitiveness of the UK economy
including the financial services sector. This will complement the
regulators’ existing objectives of ensuring the safety and
soundness of firms, protecting and enhancing the integrity of the
UK financial system, promoting competition in the interests of
consumers, and ensuring that consumers receive an appropriate
degree of protection.
The Bill also includes enhanced mechanisms for engagement with
stakeholders and accountability, scrutiny and oversight of the
regulators by Parliament and the Treasury. This includes a new
'rule review' power which will enable the government to direct
the regulators to review their rules where it is in the public
interest.
To maintain the UK’s position as an international, open and
competitive financial centre, the Bill will reform EU-derived
legislation governing our capital markets, ensuring that our
rulebook is fair, outcomes based and maintains high regulatory
standards.
This includes removing the share trading obligation and double
volume cap from MiFID II, which restrict how and where firms can
execute trades, and granting the FCA new powers to enhance the
transparency and effective function of markets.
The Bill will also give new powers to the government and
regulators to better enable them to implement Mutual Recognition
Agreements – which are agreements between two trading partners,
designed to remove technical and regulatory barriers to
trade.
To ensure the UK remains at the forefront of new technologies and
innovations, the Bill will enable certain types of stablecoins to
be regulated as a form of payment in the UK. In fostering these
new innovations, the Bill will also enable the creation of
Financial Markets Infrastructure Sandboxes – allowing firms to
test the use of new technologies and practices in financial
markets, increasing efficiency, transparency and resilience of
new products.
As part of plans to ensure consumers are protected, the
legislation includes measures that will safeguard access to cash
for generations to come; powers to enable the Payments Systems
Regulator to direct banks to reimburse victims of APP fraud; and
establishes a new regulatory pathway for firms to be able to
approve financial promotions, ensuring they better reflect FCA
rules which state that promotions should be fair, clear, and not
misleading.
As part of this approach, the government will ensure greater
financial inclusion through powers enabling credit unions, which
provide low-interest forms of credit, to offer a wider range of
products to their members
Notes to editors
