London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Nov 21, 2025

The Treasury issues a clarion call in the City's competitiveness campaign

The Treasury issues a clarion call in the City's competitiveness campaign

Ministers will take another step this week toward requiring regulators to boost the competitiveness of the UK financial services sector.
According to Sky News, the Treasury will issue a request for proposals on Tuesday, seeking suggestions for methods to assess watchdogs' compliance with the new standards.

Some may see the attempt to gather proposals from the financial services sector, one of the biggest in the UK by GDP, regulators, and other stakeholders as laying the scene for a fresh conflict between the government and the City's regulatory authorities.

Officials say City minister Andrew Griffith, a former executive at Sky News' parent company, is determined to embed the new secondary competitiveness and economic growth objectives as quickly and comprehensively as possible within the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

According to one person familiar with the document due out this week, it will be a crucial stepping stone toward a new system of accountability for regulators.

"Just as we successfully export our regulatory know-how to the world," the source said, "the government wants to learn from what competitor international financial centre jurisdictions use as yardsticks of success."

During Rishi Sunak's tenure as chancellor, the government pledged to issuing an annual 'State of the City' report, which was first released last year.

The government has agreed to co-author the report's second version with the City of London Corporation.

Mr Griffith is guiding the Financial Services and Markets Bill through parliament, and the UK's post-Brexit Future Regulatory Framework is being developed to provide a more nimble system of supervision that commands worldwide respect.


In recent months, there has been growing concern about the FCA's public company listing process, with a number of firms, like Betfair-owner Flutter Entertainment, announcing intentions to list their shares in the US.

Meanwhile, ARM Holdings, the chip manufacturer, has chosen to list in New York rather than its home market, while the creator of Revolut, the British-based fintech powerhouse, has criticized UK authorities for the speed with which they make decisions in an interview with The Times.

The FCA revealed a long-awaited revision of the London listings framework last week, but there are concerns that it may not go far enough to tip the balance back towards the UK.

Privately, regulators have raised worries about the drive to impose competitiveness goals on them, with some officials noting recent instability in the banking industry in the United States and Europe as proof of the need to stay focused on safeguarding financial stability.

Sky News reported last year that Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, was concerned about a 'call-in power' that would have given the Treasury the authority to override banking regulators.

Finally, the Treasury said that the intervention powers will not be used.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ASU Launches ASU London, Extending Its Innovation Brand to the UK Education Market
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Visit China in January as Diplomatic Reset Accelerates
Google Launches Voluntary Buyouts for UK Staff Amid AI-Driven Company Realignment
UK braces for freezing snap as snow and ice warnings escalate
Majority of UK Novelists Fear AI Could Displace Their Work, Cambridge Study Finds
UK's Carrier Strike Group Achieves Full Operational Capability During NATO Drill in Mediterranean
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Caribbean Reparations Commission Seeks ‘Mutually Beneficial’ Justice from UK
EU Insists UK Must Contribute Financially for Access to Electricity Market and Broader Ties
UK to Outlaw Live-Event Ticket Resales Above Face Value
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
German Entertainment Icons Alice and Ellen Kessler Die Together at Age 89
UK Unveils Sweeping Asylum Reforms with 20-Year Settlement Wait and Conditional Status
UK Orders Twitter Hacker to Repay £4.1 Million Following 2020 High-Profile Breach
Popeyes UK Eyes Century Mark as Fried-Chicken Chain Accelerates Roll-out
Two-thirds of UK nurses report working while unwell amid staffing crisis
Britain to Reform Human-Rights Laws in Sweeping Asylum Policy Overhaul
Nearly Half of Job Losses Under Labour Government Affect UK Youth
UK Chancellor Reeves Eyes High-Value Home Levy in Budget to Raise Tens of Billions
UK Urges Poland to Choose Swedish Submarines in Multi-Billion € Defence Bid
US Border Czar Tom Homan Declares UK No Longer a ‘Friend’ Amid Intelligence Rift
UK Announces Reversal of Income Tax Hike Plans Ahead of Budget
Starmer Faces Mounting Turmoil as Leaked Briefings Ignite Leadership Plot Rumours
UK Commentator Sami Hamdi Returns Home After US Visa Revocation and Detention
UK Eyes Denmark-Style Asylum Rules in Major Migration Shift
UK Signals Intelligence Freeze Amid US Maritime Drug-Strike Campaign
TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 Celebrates Top Creators Including Max Klymenko as Creator of the Year
UK Growth Nearly Stalls at 0.1% in Q3 as Cyberattack Halts Car Production
Apple Denied Permission to Appeal UK App Store Ruling, Faces Over £1bn Liability
UK Chooses Wylfa for First Small Modular Reactors, Drawing Sharp U.S. Objection
Starmer Faces Growing Labour Backlash as Briefing Sparks Authority Crisis
Reform UK Withdraws from BBC Documentary Amid Legal Storm Over Trump Speech Edit
UK Prime Minister Attempts to Reassert Authority Amid Internal Labour Leadership Drama
UK Upholds Firm Rules on Stablecoins to Shield Financial System
Brussels Divided as UK-EU Reset Stalls Over Budget Access
Prince Harry’s Remembrance Day Essay Expresses Strong Regret at Leaving Britain
UK Unemployment Hits 5% as Wage Growth Slows, Paving Way for Bank of England Rate Cut
Starmer Warns of Resurgent Racism in UK Politics as He Vows Child-Poverty Reforms
UK Grocery Inflation Slows to 4.7% as Supermarkets Launch Pre-Christmas Promotions
UK Government Backs the BBC amid Editing Scandal and Trump Threat of Legal Action
UK Assessment Mis-Estimated Fallout From Palestine Action Ban, Records Reveal
UK Halts Intelligence Sharing with US Amid Lethal Boat-Strike Concerns
King Charles III Leads Britain in Remembrance Sunday Tribute to War Dead
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows as Households Hold Back Ahead of Black Friday and Budget
×