Chief Executive Newsletter

This month we update on the outcomes of our recent consultation responses, our IF/ABL Awards and Dinner, attendance at EUROFI, and highlight our upcoming events.

Supporting consumers and businesses   

In September, we held our Invoice Finance and Asset-Based Lending (IF/ABL) Annual Awards and Dinner, which brought together colleagues, clients and peers in the industry to celebrate the work of outstanding students and champion the future of our profession. More information on the winners can be found on our LinkedIn.

We published our latest Business Finance Review, which showed that SME lending by the main high street banks increased by 8 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 to £4.24 billion, compared with the same period last year. Within this total, it was gross lending to small businesses (with a turnover of up to £2 million) that increased the most - up 28 per cent from the same period in 2024.

Our Household Finance Review for Q2 2025, published this month, revealed that mortgage lending activity dipped in early Q2 following Stamp Duty changes but had recovered by June. Our analysis suggests that a modest increase in lending, enabled by lower stress rates, could improve access to mortgages — especially for first-time buyers — without significantly raising arrears.

Preventing economic crime

We were pleased to see a number of our core policy asks in HM Treasury’s formal response to the ‘Improving the Effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations’ consultation. Many of these wins are the result of years of sustained, evidence-based engagement with HMT — built on robust consultation, strong industry alignment, and continuous dialogue through the Money Laundering Advisory Panel (MLAP). Key UK Finance advocacy asks that have been addressed include:

Removing mandatory Enhanced Due Diligence for grey-listed High Risk Third Countries.

Strengthening the threshold for requiring Enhanced Due Diligence on complex transactions.

Encouraging the use of Simplified Due Diligence including through pooled client account changes.

Introducing clearer guidance on expectations for use of digital identification and verification.

Introducing flexibility for Acting On Behalf Of requirements by clarifying scope of the requirements.

We will now continue to engage HM Treasury on the drafting of the Statutory Instrument to lay these changes, and the supporting guidance committed to for other priorities, to ensure maximum benefit for members and the wider anti-money laundering (AML) ecosystem.

In terms of our media engagement, we were pleased to see that our Managing Director Ben Donaldson’s interview with The Times led to a comment piece by Emma Duncan, which was entitled: “Scamming epidemic is seeded by tech firms: Banks do most of the work trying to prevent fraud while social media companies just do nothing”.

The DCPCU shared a range of operational activities including:  

The sentencing of a criminal responsible for selling tens of thousands of stolen customers banking information online. He was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison.

The sentencing of a criminal from Suffolk for stealing over £490,000 from bank customers, obtained by taking over their accounts by impersonating them. He was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court to four years and nine months.

In the summer, our Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign launched its Protect Your Patch campaign peak, run in partnership with The National Allotment Society, to help raise awareness of how people can protect themselves from fraud.

Transitioning to Net Zero    

On 17 September, we submitted responses to three key consultations on sustainability reporting measures, transition plan requirements and regulation of assurance providers. The responses mark the result of many years of detailed input to the UK Government, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and regulators. While there’s work to do, the progress of ISSB adoption in the UK has been positive – and a space where UK Finance has been a recognised thought leader. Our half-day “UK Sustainability Reporting and Transition Plans” seminar on 1 September, sponsored by Linklaters, was a good demonstration of this leadership, and offered the opportunity to discuss the proposals directly with the Department for Business and Trade, HM Treasury, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the FCA.  

Delivering a high growth economy  

This month we attended EUROFI Financial Forum in Copenhagen to gain insight into current EU perspectives on trends and challenges within financial services. We met with a range of EU financial services stakeholders in bilateral meetings to share our views on a range of issues and gather insights on international developments. Ahead of the Forum, we were delighted to co-sponsor a pre-EUROFI reception at the British Embassy in Copenhagen. Find out further information on our LinkedIn channel.

Enabling digital innovation  

Over the summer, we submitted several key consultation responses, on behalf of our members, to the FCA’s consultations covering the UK’s cryptoassets and stablecoins regulatory framework:

‘Stablecoin issuance and cryptoasset custody’ consultation.

‘A prudential regime for cryptoasset firms’ consultation paper.

‘Regulating cryptoasset activities’ discussion paper.

‘Quarterly consultation paper No. 48 [Chapter 4]’.

You can find out more and watch an overview of these responses in a video on our website.

Upcoming events and training  

Our half-day event, Key Conversation: New Digital Assets and Money 2025 is on 10 November, and will focus on the shape of digital money and how we design value for the UK. Attendees will hear from the Bank of England, regulators and key industry players.  