The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out ambitious new
growth measures for 2026 including supporting UK-issued
stablecoins to provide faster and more convenient
payments.
To enable firms to experiment with the issuance of stablecoins,
the FCA will open its regulatory sandbox for safe testing and to
support innovative policy development.
In a letter to the Prime Minister the FCA also said that,
following nearly 50 growth commitments laid out at the start of
the year, the vast majority have been met, and more initiatives
to support growth have also been delivered.
The package of growth reforms enables firms to scale, supports
home ownership, bolsters capital markets, and gives consumers
more options to invest.
Next year, the FCA will deliver a new wave of growth initiatives
to focus on more efficient supervision, the digitalisation of
financial services, increasing SME lending, and boosting trade
and international competitiveness.
Plans include deepening US-UK market integration through the
Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future; and preparing
to enable some early-stage firms to conduct regulated business
before full authorisation, for when legislation is passed.
, chief executive of the FCA,
said:
“Supporting growth helps consumers, improving their financial
resilience and providing more choice. Our reforms help the UK
maintain its global competitive edge in our world-leading
wholesale markets, attract international investment, and lead on
innovation in financial services. We will continue to embrace a
bolder risk appetite to support growth, while maintaining our
commitment to protect consumers and ensure market
integrity.”
Flagship growth reforms that have been delivered this year
include:
-
Unlocking capital investment and liquidity: To
support wholesale markets, a groundbreaking new private stock
market, PISCES, makes it easier and swifter to trade in private
shares; and final rules for a new prospectus regime make it
easier to raise capital and encourage investment.
-
Accelerating digital
innovation: The world's first
Supercharged Sandbox in partnership with Nvidia helps firms
safely test AI; and the introduction of a Scale-up Unit with
the PRA will support fast-growing, innovative firms navigate
the regulatory landscape.
-
Reducing regulatory burden: Saving time for
36,000 firms by reducing the number of data requests, only
asking for the data needed; and proposed measures to simplify
the Senior Managers and Certification Regime will drive UK
competitiveness.
-
Making it easier for firms to start up and
grow: Extended pre-application support with 158
wholesale, payments and crypto firms applying since April; more
support offered to early and high growth firms with 50% more
dedicated supervisors; and authorisations have continued to
improve, with 99.5% of cases processed on time and faster
targets set to be introduced next year.
-
Improving exports and inward investment: A
presence has been established in the US and Asia-Pacific as
part of plans to have a network of financial services attachés
around the world; and the FCA is partnering with Government to
support international firms to expand into the UK through the
Office for Investment: Financial Services.
As part of the FCA's work to rebalance how it approaches risk,
its mortgage market reforms have been taken up by 85% of the
market, with lenders being able to offer home buyers around
£30,000 more, on average. Proposals to introduce targeted support
will also encourage a greater culture of retail investment to
help people make informed financial decisions.
In this year's Global Financial Centres Index, London maintained
its position as the second highest ranked financial hub, closing
the gap on New York. Edinburgh and Glasgow also performed
strongly, placed in 32nd and 34th position
respectively.
Notes to editors:
