UK financial regulator pledges to help government boost growth
2025.01.17 08:04
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s Financial and Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Friday it would collaborate with the government on a new approach that supports economic growth, after finance minister Rachel Reeves called on regulators to remove barriers to growth.
“We want to collaborate with you in a fundamentally different way to support the growth mission,” FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and finance minister Rachel Reeves.
Reeves has urged Britain’s regulators to eliminate barriers to growth, tasking them with creating a regulatory environment that boosts investment and innovation.
She has also called on regulators to institute cultural change to deliver growth instead of focusing “excessively” on managing risk.
“To achieve the deep reforms necessary, your acceptance that we will take greater risks and rigorously prioritise resources is crucial,” Rathi said in the letter. “Growth will be a cornerstone of our strategy, through to 2030.”
Setting out a series of proposals for reform, Rathi said the FCA would aim to boost capital investment, speed up digital innovation and reduce the regulatory burden for startups and other busineses.
Among the proposed digital reforms, Rathi said the FCA was considering removing a 100-pound ($122) cap on payments with contactless cards, giving businesses and consumers more flexibility.
($1 = 0.8202 pounds)
