UK financial sector to forge new post-Brexit market model

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People lookout from Greenwich Park, with the Canary Wharf financial district in the distance, in London
People lookout from Greenwich Park, with the Canary Wharf financial district in the distance, in London, Britain, April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Britain's financial services industry has commissioned a report to lay out what needs to be done to keep London a globally competitive financial centre, which it said would span law and regulation, market practice and cultural change.

Britain is moving to reform its financial rules after the City was largely cut off from the European Union by Brexit, and as decisions by companies to list in New York raise questions about London's ability to compete globally.

Sector body the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce (CMIT), which commissioned the report, said it aims to ensure that Britain remains a leading global financial centre that supports the development of high-growth UK and international companies.

"It will be a comprehensive, concise, and easily understandable report that sets out the new market model needed to help deliver growth across the broader UK economy," CMIT said in a statement.

Critics say a change of mindset is needed to persuade pension funds to invest in UK companies, and for shareholders to allow higher pay for CEOs to retain top talent in Britain.

The report will be compiled by a core group that includes Legal & General Group CEO Nigel Wilson, former Direct Line Group CEO Penny James, Mark Austin, a lawyer who has already written a report on boosting secondary fundraisings, and Alex Hickman, senior managing director at advisory firm Teneo.

It will be published in the autumn, with a conference on July 7 to help inform the work.

Britain has already undertaken more than 30 public consultations on reforming listing and other financial rules, and is in the final stages of approving a draft financial services law to implement these so-called Edinburgh Reforms.

Separately, top financial sector officials said in March they would present a "roadmap" in the autumn to "kickstart" London's role as a post-Brexit global financial centre by 2030 by offering a "vision" for the future.

Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Toby Chopra

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