On 17 March 2025, UK Finance published its Plan for Growth, which it submitted to the Government earlier in the month.

Background

UK Finance flags the importance of financial services to the domestic economy, noting that the UK is the largest net exporter of financial services globally. It explains that the current discussion about what more the regulators could do to support economic growth, and the way in which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and others have responded, has created the space to consider bolder reforms, building on the Mansion House reform agenda laid out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in November 2024.

Proposed reforms

In the Plan, UK Finance sets out reforms that it considers are needed to help the UK financial services sector make “an even stronger contribution to the Government’s growth agenda, while also delivering real benefits for consumers, businesses and society”. Those reforms are intended to help deliver the following objectives:

  • Create a pro-growth operating environment.
  • Ensure the financial system is fit for the future.
  • Unlock financial services for consumers, businesses and society.

The reforms proposed in the Plan to help deliver these objectives include some that have now taken place, such as:

  • Consolidating the Payment Systems Regulator into the FCA, which the Government announced last week.
  • The FCA’s announcement that they will not proceed with their plans to name firms subject to enforcement action.
  • The FCA’s plans to simplify lending rules and benefit mortgage customers.
  • The PRA’s intention to increase the retail deposits leverage ratio threshold.
  • The Government’s announcement that it will review the role of the Financial Ombudsman Service to address concerns it can act as a quasi-regulator.

The Plan also sets out further proposals for the Government and regulators, including:

  • Expediting the Government’s work on issuance of a digital gilt.
  • Creating a stronger rule review mechanism to bolster regulatory accountability.
  • Publishing a new Financial Inclusion Strategy to help to empower consumers.
  • Delivering new regulatory frameworks for consumer credit, digital wallets, and new digital assets and money.
  • Recalibrating capital requirements for banks of all sizes to support more lending.