Rachel Reeves said that her Leeds Reforms – named after the location of the launch event, attended by our Chief Executive David Postings – delivered on her pledge to regulate for growth and not just risk, “so that the benefits of a thriving and growing financial services sector can be realised for people all over Britain”.

We strongly welcome the Chancellor’s support for our sector in her long-term vision for financial services – a positive response to the constructive agenda we’ve been advancing with policymakers over recent months.

The government’s proposed reforms reflect the high levels of ambition in our own Plan for Growth, as well as the detailed proposals in our Mansion House submission – all shaped by our members’ priorities.

Supporting growth through reform

The Chancellor made clear in her speech that financial services are central to the government’s growth mission – not only by attracting investment and driving innovation, but also by helping to put “pounds in the pockets” of people across the country.

Since the start of this year, the government has been working closely with our sector’s regulators to ensure that their approaches to regulation do more to support growth – a focus that permeates the Leeds Reforms.

It is reflected, for example, in the Bank of England and PRA’s policy commitments and activity on prudential regulation – an area where UK Finance has consistently argued for a more growth-oriented approach. Key announcements included:

In mortgage lending, the Chancellor highlighted the FPC’s recent recommendation to adjust its loan-to-income cap to give lenders more flexibility to support first-time buyers – a core UK Finance ask we were pleased to see delivered.

And in payments, we called on the government and regulators to accelerate their work on delivering the National Payments vision – and the public authorities have listened.

HM Treasury and the Bank of England confirmed an ambitious new approach to delivering next-generation retail payments infrastructure, closely reflecting the industry-led model proposed by UK Finance and our members. A strategy for retail payments infrastructure will follow in the autumn, with a full Payments Forward Plan arriving by year end.

Creating a better operating environment

On regulation, the government’s strategy commits to removing duplication, improving the agility of regulators, and ensuring that rules are proportionate and responsive – language that reflects our arguments on a range of prudential and conduct issues, as well as our views on the future of our sector’s regulatory architecture.

Key areas of progress include: