A landmark Bill to regain control of the financial services
rulebook has been granted Royal Assent today (Thursday 29 June).
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 is central to
delivering the Government’s vision to grow the economy and create
an open, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial
services sector.
It seizes the opportunities of Brexit by tailoring financial
services regulation to fit UK markets. The Act bolsters the
competitiveness of the UK as a global financial centre and
delivers better outcomes for consumers and businesses.
It contains new powers – available due to Brexit – that will set
the path for reforms to Solvency II, which will unlock around
£100 billion for productive investment and help cultivate
innovation and grow the economy.
The Act also introduces new secondary objectives for the
Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation
Authority – to facilitate the growth and international
competitiveness of the UK economy. This will be backed up by
changes to enhance the scrutiny and accountability of the
regulators, including ensuring regular reporting and a greater
focus on cost-benefit analyses.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, , said:
“2023 is proving to be a banner year for reforming our financial
services.
“This landmark piece of legislation gives us control of our
financial services rulebook, so it supports UK businesses and
consumers and drives growth.
“By repealing old EU laws set in Brussels it will unlock billions
in investment – cash that can unlock innovation and grow the
economy.”
The changes enable the delivery of key Edinburgh Reforms, putting
the UK on course to be the most dynamic and competitive financial
services hubs in the world. This includes enabling the
implementation of Lord Hill’s UK Listing Review which simplifies
the UK prospectus regime – making the UK a better place for
companies to IPO.
Today’s ground-breaking Act also:
- Enhances the scrutiny of the financial services regulators to
ensure clear accountability, appropriate democratic input, and
transparent oversight.
- Removes unnecessary restrictions on wholesale markets –
implementing the key outcomes of the Wholesale Markets Review.
- Protects free access to cash in law and introduces crucial
protections for victims of Authorised Push Payment scams.
- Enables the regulation of cryptoassets to support their safe
adoption in the UK.
- Establishes ‘sandboxes’ that can facilitate the use of new
technologies such as blockchain in financial markets.
