Members have continued to share their thoughts on the Budget and Comprehensive Spending Review and the CBI is already planning its response to any spring fiscal events. As well as helping members understand the next steps from COP26, the CBI has been monitoring the state of play of supply chain challenges and what firms will need to help them navigate the next phase of the pandemic.
Please see below for the multiple opportunities for members to get involved and shape our work.
Policy Updates
HMT Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review
The Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review was established to determine how the overall approach to regulation of financial services needs to adapt to the UK’s new position outside the EU and to ensure the regulatory framework is fit for the future.
The next phase of this process is now live, it sets out a package of proposals that builds on the overall blueprint for financial services regulation set out previously, focusing on the split of responsibilities between Parliament, the government and regulators.
The CBI is working closely with members and FS trade associations to develop our position and response via member roundtables. The first member roundtable to take place will be on 7th January 2022. To register your interest in attending or alternatively arrange a bilateral please email [email protected]
Response to UK Secondary Capital Raising Review
The CBI responded to the UK Secondary Capital Raising Review highlighting the importance of a flexible and proportionate regulatory approach that maintains a global horizon to encourage deeper capital markets that support growth and innovation, giving companies already listed a range of options through more efficient rules. It stressed the need to balance promoting an important shift in investment culture, encouraging more businesses to continue to use public markets to grow, whilst keeping pace with global developments to ensure the UK’s long-term competitiveness. Reform to ensure an efficient secondary capital raising regime must consider more effective use of technology, including lessons learnt from changes to Initial Public Offering (IPO) to engage retail investors more effectively. If you would like to get involved in the CBI’s work on capital markets and reforms to help businesses of all sizes achieve their ambitions, please email [email protected]
Response to HMT Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) regulation
The CBI has been working with members to shape its response to HMT’s BNPL regulation. Following the ‘The Woolard Review’, the government intends to bring interest-free BNPL products into regulation. HM Treasury has set out policy options to approach the regulation of BNPL and CBI intends to submit its response via a high-level letter in the new year. Our draft is still up for member feedback, so if you would like sight of the response, or to feed in, please contact [email protected] ASAP. The deadline for response is 6 January 2022.
Sustainable Finance Update
COP26
Through our campaigning and on-the-ground work at COP26, the CBI has been representing UK business initiatives, challenges and successes on the world stage. Our main conclusion from the Conference is that this COP was different than others – there was a different sense of urgency and businesses played a key role in Glasgow discussions.
As part of our COP26 engagement, we organised the CBI Business Dinner in Glasgow with US Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng joining us in-person. We have also teamed up with The New York Times to produce exclusive CBI daily broadcasts, to increase global business and consumer collaboration on climate and biodiversity. The CBI has supported the drive towards ambitious domestic and international policy action and we have shared messages from our sustainable finance position paper written in collaboration with members at different platforms in Glasgow. Finally, through our hustings events, social media activity, and online articles we’ve been highlighting the great work businesses are already doing to decarbonise their operations. To find out more about our COP26 work, have a look here.
FS Sustainable Finance Working Group
The last meeting of the FS Sustainable Finance Working Group took place on December 1st. We were joined by our Chief Economist and the Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG) member Rain Newton-Smith and focused the discussion on the UK Taxonomy. If you couldn’t attend and would like to know more about, please email [email protected] to receive the meeting slides.
The next meeting of the Working Group will take place on 16 February at 13:00-14:30 and we will most likely discuss the upcoming consultation on Sustainable Disclosure Requirements (SDR). If you are not a member of the group and would like to attend the meeting, please email Julia.
Taxonomy Working Group
If you’d like to be more involved in our work on the development of the UK Taxonomy, please email Julia to join our Taxonomy Working Group. It’s a forum which involves both FS and non-FS members and aims to inform Rain’s work in the GTAG. The next meeting will take place on 2 February at 10:00-11:30. We will update you on the GTAG’s latest meeting and will be seeking your views on the value case for expanding the UK taxonomy to more parts of the economy.
FinTech Strategy
Within the CBI’s Economic Vision Seize the Moment, the UK’s financial technology (FinTech) sector has been identified as a key opportunity under the innovation pillar of the report. The UK FinTech sector is globally leading, with the right ‘melting pot’ of ingredients to strengthen its position and secure future growth. Building on the work across the sector and following on from the Kalifa Review, the CBI is developing a strategy to support B2B activation of FinTech and ensure more businesses consider how FinTech can move them forward. To find out more, please email [email protected]
How to get involved
Bank of England CBDC Engagement Forum
The CBI is a member of the Bank of England’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Engagement Forum. The Bank of England and HM Treasury will use the forum to inform their approach to CBDC including policy considerations and functional requirements regarding CBDC. More generally, the EF will have an important role in helping the Bank and HMT understand the practical challenges of designing, implementing, and operating a CBDC. Chris Wilford, CBI Director of Financial Services Policy, will be representing the CBI on this forum. To feed into the CBI’s work, please contact [email protected]
Financial Services Innovation Forum
The next meeting of the CBI Financial Services Innovation Forum will be on 20th January, (14:00-15:30) to discuss the proposed FinTech strategy. To find out more and get involved, please email [email protected]