King's Speech 2026: Enhancing Financial Services Bill

The financial services sector plays a vital role in the UK's economy – it is one ofthemostsuccessfulexportsectors,akeyenablerofgrowthinothersectors, and a provider of payments, credit, insurance and investment services to households and businesses all across the UK, including through credit unions supportingcommunitiesnationwide.

• The Enhancing Financial Services Bill will deliver key parts of the Leeds Reforms set out by the Chancellor in 2025. It will modernise how the sector is regulated, enable it to grow and to lend more to businesses, and make consumer protections fit for the digital age – all while maintaining high standards of regulation and oversight, supporting the UK's position as a leading global financial centre.

What does the Bill do?

• The financial services sector is one of the UK's greatest economic success stories – playing a vital role in the economy, responsible for around 20 per cent of UK exports and underpinning the provision of payments, credit, insurance and investment services to households and businesses. The UK is the world's largest net exporter of financial services and a leading global financial centre, serving people and businesses across the world. It supports jobs across the country in places like Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh and London.
• The UK financial services sector has continually been at the forefront of innovation. However global competition has intensified and the UK needs to keep up the pace. This has meant that in recent years, the sector has experienced slower growth and productivity gains, and higher costs. We want Britain to be more competitive globally, and to harness the UK's global leadership in financial services, so it is better able to support UK businesses and consumers.
• The Bill will:
• • Modernise consumer protections and redress arrangements to reflect today's markets and maintain confidence. It will ensure consumers are appropriately protected when something goes wrong, making sure protections are fit for the digital age. Reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service will increase consistency and clarity of decision-making, helping people resolve disputes more quickly and with greater certainty.
  • Consolidate the regulatory framework to enable stronger coordination and clearer responsibilities, reduce fragmentation of

the regulators and support innovation. By streamlining the regulatory architecture and consolidating the Payment Systems Regulator within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), firms will deal with fewer overlapping regulators, providing clearer accountability and faster decision-making.

Territorial extent and application

• The majority of measures will extend and apply to the whole of the UK.

Key facts

• The financial services sector accounts for around 8 per cent of UK output and employs more than 1.1 million people across the country. It is one of the UK's most globally competitive sectors, with London ranked second only to New York in the 2025 Global Financial Centres Index.
• The sector also makes a very significant tax contribution. According to TheCityUK figures, in 2023 the sector contributed £79.3 billion, or around 9 per cent of total UK tax receipts.
• The UK is the largest global net exporter of financial services totalling £102.2 billion in 2025, representing half of the UK's services export surplus. ONS figures

show that excluding the US, UK financial services exports in 2025 were greater than the rest of the G7 combined.

• Despite its strengths, the sector has not grown in real terms since 2010, in contrast to several international financial centres that have recovered more strongly since the Global Financial Crisis. Slower growth can harm productivity, innovation and jobs, and risks losing jobs and investment overseas.
• The financial services regulatory framework has grown significantly over time. Responses to the Government's ‘Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy: Call for Evidence' indicated that the complexity of the UK regulatory environment is detracting from the UK's overall attractiveness, with many respondents indicating that it was more complex and burdensome to be regulated as a financial services firm in the UK than in other countries.
• Credit unions are financial co-operatives currently serving over 1.5 million people across Great Britain, according to Bank of England data. These reforms will make it easier for the 220 credit unions in Great Britain to attract more members, allowing millions more people to potentially benefit from the expansion of affordable, community-based financial services. This supports the Government's ambition to double the size of the mutual sector and, as credit unions are deeply embedded in their communities, promote growth across all regions of Great Britain.
• The Chief Executive Officer of Santander UK, Mike Reigner, said “We welcome the announcement of the Leeds Reforms… which set out a positive vision for UK financial services. The changes outlined within the package are important steps to modernising the UK's regulatory architecture, and will enable banks like ours to support our customers better and drive growth within the wider economy.”