National & International

A major shake-up of UK banking rules is underway

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According to the BBC.

One of the largest overhauls of financial regulation in more than three decades has been announced by the government.

It says the package of more than 30 reforms will “cut red tape” and “turbocharge growth”.

It is planned to review rules that forced banks to separate retail banking from riskier investment operations.

Those were introduced after the 2008 financial crisis when some banks faced collapse.

The package of changes, the “Edinburgh Reforms”, is being presented as an example of post-Brexit freedom to tailor regulation specifically to the needs and strengths of the UK economy.

However, critics say it risks forgetting the lessons of the financial crisis.

Between 2007 and 2009 the then-Labour government spent £137bn of public money to bail out banks.

Overall, taxpayers have lost £36.4bn on those bailouts, according to the latest estimate from independent forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility.

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The plans to ease regulations on financial services are being described as another “Big Bang” – a reference to the deregulation of financial services by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1986.

The government has already announced it will scrap a cap on bankers’ bonuses and allow insurance companies to invest in long-term assets such as housing and windfarms to boost investment and help its leveling up agenda.

Rules governing how senior finance executives are hired, monitored and sanctioned will be overhauled.

There will also be new rules around bundling investments together into tradeable units – a process called securitisation.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the changes would secure “the UK’s status as one of the most open, dynamic, and competitive financial services hubs in the world”.

The 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”.

IMAGE SOURCE: BBC GETTY IMAGES

 

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