KPMG has recently commented on the one year anniversary of the launch of the Edinburgh Reforms
Commenting on 12 months from the launch of the Edinburgh Reforms, Karim Haji, global and UK head of financial services at KPMG said:
“One year on from the launch of these reforms, we can certainly point to a promising direction of travel in establishing a new framework in which our regulators can do their job. While the Treasury Committee has highlighted that change is not happening quickly enough, part of the attractiveness of the UK is that our regulatory system is relatively stable and regulators consult widely on proposed changes. We shouldn’t lose the value of this for the sake of meeting artificial deadlines. But government, regulators and financial services sector need continue to devote resources and momentum needs to be increased to delivery positive change for the UK economy.”
For additional context, at the previous year’s Autumn Statement, the Chancellor highlighted financial services “as one the UK’s five key growth sectors. In a written statement to Parliament on 9 December 2022, the Chancellor set out a collection of announcements taking forward the government’s ambition for the UK to be the world’s most innovative and competitive global financial centre.”
This builds on the government’s vision “for financial services, as set out in the Chancellor’s speech at Mansion House in 2021, for an open, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial services sector that is globally competitive and acts in the interests of communities and citizens, creating jobs, supporting businesses, and powering growth across all four nations of the UK.”
The government is already “taking forward work to deliver its vision through the Financial Services and Markets (FSM) Bill and, along with the announcement of the final policy statement on reforming Solvency II at Autumn Statement, this set of announcements is the next step in that work.”
The government’s approach to reforming the financial services regulatory landscape recognises and protects the foundations “on which the UK’s success as a financial services hub is built: agility, consistently high regulatory standards, and openness.”
This will ensure the sector benefits “from dynamic, proportionate regulation and that consumers and citizens benefit from high quality services, appropriate consumer protection and from a sector that embraces the latest technology.”