The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) welcomes the wide range of reforms announced as part of the UK Government’s ambitious 10-year strategy for financial services.

AFME strongly supports the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which recognises the importance that UK financial services play, not only in financing the real economy, but also in driving service exports.

Adam Farkas, Chief Executive of AFME, commented: “AFME welcomes the UK Government’s renewed focus on capital markets as one of the priority sectors and supports the view that the UK can only achieve significant economic growth with well-functioning, deep and liquid capital markets. Achieving the benefits of this clear long-term vision will depend on close collaboration between the Government, regulatory bodies, and the financial services sector.

“AFME has long called for a stable and predictable regulatory environment, and we welcome the sector strategy as well as the requirement for regulators to produce long-term strategies with clear goals and priorities. We also strongly support the focus on removing operational burdens, where appropriate, to make the sector more competitive.”

International cooperation and simplification

“We are pleased to see a commitment to prioritising reforms in areas where the UK remains an outlier internationally. AFME has consistently emphasised the importance of regulatory cooperation and convergence, especially between the EU and the UK, and we support efforts to simplify the UK landscape where the level of complexity is out-of-sync with other markets, for example, on cyber resilience reporting. We also strongly welcome the Government’s commitment to uphold international standards and to work with global standard setting bodies.”

Digital Markets

“We welcome the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy, especially the commitment to removing paper processes. These reforms, if implemented correctly, will not only improve operational efficiency and reduce risk but also support the UK’s broader goals around digital innovation and competitiveness. AFME has been a longstanding advocate on the need for full dematerialisation of shares, and already proposed several further measures, including encouraging electronic payments as default (e.g. for dividends), greater use of e-signatures, and the promotion of electronic communication methods as default. These modernisation measures are a critical foundation for the development and adoption of digital markets in the UK.”

“A cross-sectoral approach to Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), including the commitment to drive market adoption more broadly is an important step-forward. As part of this the UK Government should look towards a longer-term commitment to gilt issuances as part of the Debt Management Office’s regular issuance programme. The longer-term strategy for both the issuance of DLT based gilts and the creation of a regulatory framework that accommodates at-scale DLT-based capital markets is essential for the UK to become a leader in this technology.”

Sustainable Finance

“We strongly support the strategy for sustainable finance, including the commitment to prioritise policies that will have the greatest impact, . AFME looks forward to continuing our engagement with the UK Government to create an effective regulatory framework for sustainable finance, including the development of Sustainability Reporting Standards, transition plans and through our involvement with the Transition Finance Council. We agree that these measures, in conjunction with work to put in place the policies for companies to have the information, the tools and the incentives to adapt their businesses, should be prioritised over the development of a taxonomy.”

Tax

“The tax system has a vital role to play in supporting economic growth and competitiveness. A stable regime for financial services tax is important in this regard. The Government should consider removing disincentives to investing in capital markets, with the abolition of stamp taxes on shares as a long-term goal to encourage investment in capital markets.”

Securitisation

“Among all the measures announced which aim to make a positive contribution to UK Growth, AFME and our members strongly believe that strengthening the securitisation market would have a significant impact on the UK economy – enabling increased lending to SMEs, facilitating infrastructure spending, and helping finance the net-zero transition. The inclusion of this sector, therefore, in the strategy would have been a valuable addition. However, we recognise the positive progress made so far on the UK securitisation framework, and since more consultations are currently pending, we look forward to continued engagement with regulators and remain committed to advocating for a robust securitisation market.”

Source: AFME

IA comment on the Leeds Reforms

Commenting on the Government’s Leeds Reforms, Chris Cummings, Chief Executive at the Investment Association said:  

“The Leeds Reforms bring together an ambitious programme for financial services reform, which aims to modernise capital markets, cut regulatory red tape and broaden the benefits of investing to more people across the UK – in turn delivering investment-led growth and improved financial resilience for UK households.

“We called on the government to undertake bold reforms to strengthen the UK’s retail investment culture and they have done so. We’re proud to be part of the industry-led campaign to raise awareness of the importance of investing to peoples’ future financial wellbeing. Better communication of the returns investing brings is key if we’re to empower more people to invest. The review of risk warnings is a welcome move to shift the conversation from warning to informing and we are pleased to play a central role. We’re also extremely pleased that Long-Term Asset Funds will now be incorporated into the Stocks and Shares ISA – a reform we have long called for. Broadening access to the private markets through the LTAF will enable people to further diversify their investments and benefit from the long-terms returns provided by this asset class.

“Cutting red tape to attract investment and drive growth will help ensure the UK remains a world-leading centre for investment management, in particular the reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime as well as the review of Consumer Duty. We look forward to working with government, regulator and industry to deliver this forward-looking programme of reforms.”

Source: IA

FCA Statement on Market Reforms

Our capital markets power the nation’s economic engine. They are the largest in Europe, while London is the second biggest financial services centre in the world.

We have world-leading derivatives, debt issuance, foreign exchange and commodity trading sectors. We are second only to the US in asset management.

Those strengths are why the UK is the world’s largest net exporter of financial services.

We are in the middle of a programme of significant reforms to our capital markets. This aims to build on strong foundations so we maintain the UK’s position as one of the most competitive and compelling places in the world to raise capital and invest. That is why we have put growth at the heart of our 5-year strategy, setting out a vision for more informed risk taking.

Building on strong foundations

We have already done a lot.

We have made it simpler for companies to list in the UK, supporting growth and creating investment opportunities. By overhauling the prospectus regime and introducing a new public offer platform, we have made it easier for companies to raise the money they need to grow. We have also given investment firms more choice in how they pay for research.

Sweeping reforms to the rules for bonds and derivatives will reduce costs for firms and ensure investors have access to better, quicker and clearer data.

Streamlining transparency rules and our proposal to remove the systematic internaliser regime for bonds and derivatives will reduce cost and complexity for firms.

Simplifying the regulatory perimeter for commercial users of commodity derivatives, via reform of the ancillary activities test, will also help ensure open and competitive markets.

Millions more people could get support with their pensions and investments, under our landmark reforms to the advice guidance boundary. And information supplied to investors will be simplified to drive investment, including removing complex cost disclosure requirements for firms.

We continue to lower costs for firms by streamlining our rulebook, including the Senior Manager Certification Regime, reducing data requests, simplifying authorisations and focussing engagement with firms on a smaller number of priorities.

Supporting innovation is also a critical part of our work. In June 2025, we introduced PISCES, a new private stock market enabling investors to buy stakes in exciting growth companies. And our Digital Securities Sandbox helps firms test drive innovative technology and shape the future of the market.

This work represents a bold shift that promotes innovation, lowers costs, creates jobs and attracts a broader investor base for growing businesses.

Looking ahead

And there is more still to come.

We are establishing a consolidated tape for bonds, so investors have better information to trade on in a cost-effective way. We will award the contract this year and in Q4 we will consult on a consolidated tape for equities.

We want to ensure the right protections apply for the consumers who need them and create more freedom for those who don’t. We will review who can be treated as a professional investor for investment firms and how retail consumers access investments, to find the right balance and unlock more opportunities. We will update on next steps in Q4.

We receive over 7 billion transaction reports a year that enable us to monitor the cleanliness, transparency and resilience of our markets. We will set out proposals in Q4 to improve the quality of data we receive and reduce costs for firms ahead of introducing final rules in 2026.

In Q4 we will review securitisation rules to identify areas we can simplify and remove barriers to issuing and investing, ahead of finalising rules in H2 2026.

Our reforms in wholesale markets rebalance risk, support new technology and innovation, and shift our regime from pre-emptive gates and checks, towards a world of transparency and disclosures. They give firms more freedom to act and help investors make informed decisions. This will ensure our market remains world-leading, now and in the future.

As we drive forward our ambitious programme of reform, we will continue to engage industry, listen to feedback and pilot new ideas. We will convene where there are differing views, make the difficult decisions and work at pace with Government and industry to deliver this important work.

More information

• In response to the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech on 15 July, we published a number of updates:
  • CP25/22: Modernising the redress system
  • CP25/21: Senior Managers and Certification Regime review
  • We’ve issued a joint statement with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)Link is external welcoming the Treasury’s plans to support the growth of the UK’s captive insurance market. We are committed to developing a proportionate authorisation and regulatory regime for captives reflecting the lower risk they pose.
• On 24 December 2024, the Prime Minister wrote to the main UK regulators (including the FCA) seeking ideas for growth. In our response letter (PDF) of 16 January 2025, we set out our plans to do this, listing almost 50 actions we are taking to unlock new potential in the economy.
• Nikhil Rathi, chief executive, recently delivered a keynote speech at TheCityUK annual conference, to discuss the strengths and potential of financial services.
• Simon Walls, executive director of markets, recently delivered a speech outlining how the FCA supports risk taking and growth.
• Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive, recently delivered a speech explaining the FCA had switched off data requests, benefitting around 16,000 firms

Source: FCA

Michael Aldridge, President and CRO of Accelex, commented:

“The government’s move to allow Long Term Asset Funds (LTAFs) to be held in Stocks and Shares ISAs is a market-first that will enable retail investors to tap into lucrative returns on offer in private markets through a tax-advantaged account. However, this is a double-edged sword. Private markets are notorious for their lack of transparency, with even seasoned institutional investors struggling to get the data and visibility they need to make smart decisions in the space. For retail investors considering investing in LTAFs, this lack of clarity could mean taking on risks without having a full picture of their investments.

“If the government wants to boost retail investment into private markets, it must take strong measures to improve clarity over private assets’ valuations and performance to ensure that retail investors can make informed decisions and have full visibility of where their hard-earned money is going.”