New banking regulations could affect the competitiveness of London
While the so-called Turner Review has laid the blame for the UK recession, and the worldwide recession, fairly and squarely at the door of the financial sector, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today been warned that increased regulatory restrictions could well impact upon the competitiveness of the London financial markets. To those with any knowledge of the industry this will come as no surprise, but will the UK government and the UK regulators listen?
There is no doubt that the outcry from the public with regards to the ongoing recession, banking bonuses and banking remuneration packages have put the authorities under significant pressure to rein in the power of the UK financial sector. However, many people believe the authorities have gone overboard and introduced regulations which will ultimately stifle competition in London and reduce competitiveness on the worldwide stage. It is vital that the UK government finds a balance between competition and regulations because the very future of the London financial market is at risk.
There have been a number of calls for regulations to be delayed until 2011 which would ultimately mean a watering down of recent regulatory proposals in favour of more power to the banking system. This is the traditional "kicking the ball into the long grass" situation where the authorities would hope that voters will have forgotten what exactly happened by the time the issue is picked up again.
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