The opinions expressed here are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of UK Finance or its members.

While not quite as gripping as the eponymous film, there were nonetheless some noteworthy developments for the financial services industry.

The growth agenda and financial services

Identified as one of eight high-growth sectors, the financial services sector is recognised as critical to the overall UK economy.  Yet in an intensely competitive global marketplace, the UK has struggled to maintain its competitive position – in real terms the sector has not grown as a whole since 2010.  This is in contrast to the regulatory framework, which has grown significantly over time and has impaired the attractiveness of the UK as a destination to do business.

Last year's Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy and Leeds Reforms sought to address this (see: Lights, camera, regulatory action!) and the Enhancing Financial Services Bill takes this one stage further. 

What's in the Bill?

As the briefing notes accompanying the speech explain, the areas of policy development to be covered by the Bill, include:

Changes to the Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS): as confirmed in March 2026, significant reforms will be made to FOS to help people resolve disputes "more quickly and with greater clarity". This includes adapting the current 'fair and reasonable test' so that, for any element of a complaint where firms have met their obligations under relevant FCA rules, the FOS will be required to find that a firm has acted fairly and reasonably in relation to that element of the complaint.

Consolidation of the PSR into the FCA: primary legislation is required to bring the functions of the PSR into the FCA as confirmed in the government's April 2026 consultation response. This will be largely a 'lift and shift' exercise, with the objective of streamlining the regulatory ecosystem, reducing the burden for business and promoting innovation. In parallel with this legislative change, the government is expected to consult soon on reforms to modernise payments regulation in the UK.

Reforms to the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR): following an extensive review of the SMCR, the government has committed to reduce the administrative burden of the regime by half by focusing attention on the most senior individuals in financial services. This will enable firms to turn more of their attention to customer service and invest in growth rather than grapple with onerous compliance requirements. To this end, the government confirmed in April that it will remove from legislation the certification regime to be replaced by a rules-based approach.

Changes to ring-fencing regime: The government hopes reforms to the regime will lead to improved competition in SME lending, which will in turn help small businesses access finance (see HMT's policy paper, published on 18 May 2026, which sets out its proposals to reform the regime). 

Other relevant legislation

The speech listed other legislation of relevance to the financial services industry including:

• The Regulating for Growth Bill: building on the 2025 Regulation Action Plan, this Bill aims to reduce the burden of unnecessary regulation through innovation. It will include provision for national regulatory sandboxes including for AI citing as an example the success of the FCA's Innovate initiative.
• Digital Access to Services Bill: this Bill will introduce Digital ID for public services. Research into Digital IDs has been a priority for the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum. Digital ID has the potential to transform financial services through strengthening access and inclusion, combating fraud, and improving customer experience, particularly through the avenue of Open Finance.
• The European Partnership Bill: while the Bill does not seem to be focused on financial services, it is hoped that this will lay the foundations for a stronger framework for EU-UK financial services co-operation.

Conclusion

Although the Enhancing Financial Services Bill, which was introduced to parliament as the Financial Services and Markets Bill on 19 May 2026, may not go quite as far as some would wish it to, it is nevertheless a positive step in the right direction.

The industry can also take cheer from last week's batch of regulatory announcements: a Call for Input on tokenisation in UK wholesale markets, the consultation on extending the settlement hours of the core UK payment systems, the publication of updated guidance on the prudential treatment of tokenised asset, stablecoins, and other cryptoasset exposures, and on innovations in deposits, e-money and stablecoins, and the government's policy statement on reform of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Legislation and regulatory initiatives, of course, may only provide part of the solution to resolving the UK growth conundrum – many have argued that there is a critical need for a major cultural shift but that's for a different blog!