Post-Brexit ‘big bang’ for the City: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveils plan to slash EU red tape and loosen credit crunch capital rules to unlock £100bn of investment
- Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has unveiled measures to boost the UK financial sector
- ‘Edinburgh reforms’ will cut EU red tape and loosen some credit crunch era rules
- Mr Hunt said plans will ‘seize on Brexit freedoms’ and deliver ‘agile’ regulation
Jeremy Hunt today unveiled a post-Brexit ‘big bang’ for financial sector in a bid to boost growth.
On a visit to Scotland, the Chancellor declared that EU red tape will be slashed and credit crunch-era rules loosened to unlock £100billion of investment in the UK economy.
The ‘Edinburgh reforms’ are designed to bolster the capital’s status as the pre-eminent financial centre in Europe – which has been dealt a blow over recent years.
The package has echoes of the 1980s ‘big bang’ deregulation under the Thatcher government, which sparked a boom in the sector.
The moves will loosen banking rules introduced after the 2008 financial crisis, which saw some UK banks face potential collapse.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt declared that EU red tape will be slashed and credit crunch-era rules loosened to unlock £100billion of investment in the UK economy
The ‘Edinburgh reforms’ are designed to bolster the capital’s status as the pre-eminent financial centre in Europe – which has been dealt a blow over recent years
There is a commitment to make ‘substantial legislative progress’ on repealing and replacing the Solvency II directive next year, which the Treasury believes will free up more than £100billion of private investment.
Mr Hunt also promised to reform the UK prospectus regime to support stock market listings and capital raises, reforming rules on real estate investment trusts and reviewing provisions on investment research in the UK.
Mr Hunt said: ‘We are committed to securing the UK’s status as one of the most open, dynamic and competitive financial services hubs in the world.
‘The Edinburgh Reforms seize on our Brexit freedoms to deliver an agile and home-grown regulatory regime that works in the interest of British people and our businesses.
‘And we will go further – delivering reform of burdensome EU laws that choke off growth in other industries such as digital technology and life sciences.’
City figures denied that the measures represented a ‘race to the bottom’.
Policy chairman at the City of London Corporation Chris Hayward told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘This is not about deregulation, this is about growth.
‘We need the help of good growth and good regulation at the same time, they are two sides of the same coin.
‘It’s not a race to the bottom, in my view, it’s a chance to actually grow our economy and I think we should be very excited about it. It’s positive news for financial services.’