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But today, I want to talk about the progress we have, collectively, made on financial services over the course of this Parliament. Because this Parliament has truly been a Parliament of Success.
Over the last 3 years, my predecessors at HM Treasury and I, alongside the Chancellor and Prime Minister, have embarked on the most comprehensive set of reforms to financial services in a generation.
I will be honest with you – we haven’t been able to do everything as quickly as we would have liked to have done.
And there are things – important things – which we need to do more on.
But when you boil it down, I am confident that we are – hand in hand with industry – successfully delivering a new model for the UK’s FS sector…
…A model that is open to the world, which embraces the opportunities of tomorrow, and which is firmly at the heart of a modern, dynamic UK economy.
…And it is our hopes and our plans for this new model that I would like to talk more about today.
Underpinning my thinking is a clear assessment of the fact that our country cannot significantly upgrade our economic growth without a growing and thriving financial services sector.
Of course, to understand where we are now, and where we are going, we must understand where we have come from.
The booms, busts and bankruptcies of the last two centuries are lessons in the capacity of individuals, governments, and institutions to change the course of history.
After the “Golden Age” of the late 19th century, the trauma of the Great War, and the decision to return to the gold standard, by 1929 the Square Mile – and the wider economy – was in serious trouble.
The Macmillan Committee was set up to look at the finance sector – because, as David Kynaston says in his brilliant book on the City – “not just the City, but capitalism itself was on trial”.
There was a perception that the City existed to finance imperial and global trade, and was neglecting the necessary support of British industry throughout the regions of the UK. Plus ça change.
This phrase “capitalism is on trial” has stuck with me. Because in 2024, nearly a century on, I am struck by the way in which the health of the financial services sector remains intertwined with perceptions of the health of capitalism…
…And the reality of the health of the broader economy.
This is, in part, I think, why we care so much about it…
…And why we continue to examine and evaluate the relationship between finance, industry, government and regulators.
Back in the ‘80s, it was ‘adapt or die’, because the rules of the game were being rewritten all around us…
…Now; taking account of both the post-crisis reforms, and our current set of reforms; we have rewritten the rules…
We are adapting successfully in the face of change and challenge…
…But we should not forget the need to continually capitalise on our uniqueness.
The UK is the one place in the world where everyone can transact and interact – the Far East, Middle East, America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Yes, there are other financial centres, but they don’t have the breadth and depth that we have. To maintain our uniqueness, we must remain highly competitive…
…Taking a different approach to our EU counterparts where necessary, updating where we want to go further, better, and faster than we could when we were in the EU…
…So that, as we approach the second quarter of the 21st century, we can confidently showcase a new, world-leading model for financial services – one that is fit for the future.
So, what is at the heart of this new model?
At Mansion House nearly four years ago, the now Prime Minister – then Chancellor – set out a vision for the financial services sector. One that is technologically advanced, open, sustainable, and competitive.
One that builds on our history – including both the Big Bang deregulation of the ’80s, and the care we’ve taken since ’08 to embed and protect stability – whilst also looking forward to our future.
We are delivering this vision: through the Edinburgh Reforms in 2022, the Mansion House Reforms last year, and the progress made at Autumn Statement and Spring Budget...
more at HM Treasury