On 15 July 2025, HM Treasury (HMT) published a letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Governor of the Bank of England (BoE), providing recommendations for the Financial Market Infrastructure Committee (FMIC). The FMIC exercises the BoE’s FMI functions under the Bank of England Act 1998 (the Act), which requires HMT, at least once in each Parliament, to make recommendations about aspects of the Government’s economic policy the BoE should consider when applying its regulatory principles.

The letter, issued under Section 301 of the Act, recognises the global systemic importance of FMIs and asks the BoE to balance its primary objective of UK financial stability with its secondary objective to support innovation. It welcomes the BoE’s work on stablecoins in the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) but calls for more action on policymaking for central counterparties and central securities depositories. The Chancellor also references the need for engagement with incumbents and new entrants, streamlining processes, maintaining high standards and international engagement on key regulatory issues. Although the systemic payment systems framework is not covered by the BoE, the Chancellor notes that innovation in wholesale payments will be essential for the adoption of digital processes in FMIs, especially for FMI accountability requirements. The FMIC must respond within a year and annually thereafter.