Last week UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves
unveiled the first-ever Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness sector plan and her aim to make the UK “the number one destination for financial services businesses by 2035, attracting inward investment and creating good skilled jobs across the UK.”
Fueling fintech innovation, talent and scale-up support
Reeves explained that startups will get tailored support through all growth stages. A single regulatory contact will also help scale-ups navigate compliance. Alongside this,
skills pipeline initiatives including a Global Talent Taskforce and funding for PhDs aligned with sector needs will be provided.
Speaking about these changes that have been dubbed the ‘Leeds Reforms’, Reeves said: “We fixed the public finances and stabilised the economy. Now we need to double down on our global strengths to put the UK ahead in the global race for financial businesses
- creating good skilled jobs in every part of the country and helping savers’ money go further through our Plan for Change.”
Cutting red tape to welcome global capital
By reducing red tape, encouraging informed risk-taking and supporting international firms with setting up in the UK, a new concierge service will guide investors to financial hubs, specialist clusters like asset management in Edinburgh, fintech in Leeds
and Cardiff, and insurance in Norwich and Norfolk.
Further, in an attempt to free up capital for investment, bank capital rules will be adjusted to do just that, with
Basel 3.1 being phased in from January 2027 to maintain competitiveness and retail and investment banking ring-fencing to be reviewed to strike more of a balance.
Freeing up capital to power UK growth
The UK aims to double the real growth rate in net exports of financial services between 2025 and 2035 compared to the last decade. This would mean financial services net exports going from a CAGR of 1.37% to 2.7%, a cumulative increase of 30% between 2025
and 2035.
Welcoming this announcement, Mike Reigner, CEO, Santander UK, highlighted that the Leeds Reforms “set out a positive vision for UK financial services. The changes outlined within the package are important steps to modernising the UK’s regulatory architecture,
and will enable banks like ours to support our customers better and drive growth within the wider economy.”
Charlie Nunn, CEO, Lloyds Banking Group added that these changes will “unlock investment, boost financial resilience, and support long-term economic growth. As a sector, we have a vital role to play in helping customers make the most of their money and in
facilitating investment and innovation that benefits communities and businesses across the UK.”
Retail investment and ISA reforms
The reality is that the UK has the lowest retail investment among the G7 nations, so a new campaign and targeted support from the FCA will work to encourage savers to move from low-interest accounts to higher-return investments from April 2026.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown, agreed that these reforms will “help build a more dynamic and equitable financial ecosystem. It’s still not going to be easy to compete against the might of New York, but with continued collaboration
across the industry, these changes should provide more fuel to power an engine of growth and innovation.”
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown, adds: “It’s incredibly positive to see Rachel Reeves take some key steps towards closing the UK’s yawning retail investment gap. There will be a new era of investment with the advent of new rules
allowing companies to offer targeted support to their clients, alongside changes to risk warnings so they actively help retail investors understand their options rather than standing in their way of harnessing the incredible power of investment. Changes to
the advice/guidance boundary will give them the understanding and confidence to realise the right balance of savings and investments for their needs, and take advantage of the huge potential that investment offers.”
Similarly, ISA reforms will also allow Long Term Asset Funds in Stocks & Shares ISAs, to support innovation and infrastructure. Commenting on the Mansion House Speech, Carol Knight, CEO of The Investing and Saving Alliance, said: “Savers across the UK can
breathe a sigh of relief that the Chancellor has not proceeded with reducing the Cash ISA allowance. Rather than cutting the tax benefit of Cash ISAs to try and push people into investing in stocks and shares, it’s right that the Government appears to be heeding
calls to encourage people to invest with better support, information and guidance.”
Mortgage access and first-time buyers
Mortgage access was also mentioned as a priority and the aim is to support over 36,000 first-time buyers by ensuring the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme becomes permanent and lending rules are simplified. Further, Nationwide will play a key role in easing home
buying.
In Brian Byrnes, head of personal finance, Moneybox’s view: “It is encouraging to see steps being taken to support first-time buyers. Enabling people to borrow more is not a silver bullet. What first-time buyers truly need is not just the ability to take
on more debt, but meaningful, long-term support to help them start saving and investing earlier in life so they can build up that all-important deposit.”
Why fintech leaders are backing the Leeds Reforms
Commenting on the Leeds Reforms, Janine Hirt, CEO, Innovate Finance believes that these are a “strong bundle of reforms”. She called out the focus on regulation as this addresses “barriers identified by our fintech founders and our Unicorn Council and bring
to life our proposals for bridging the ‘regulatory valley of death’.”
Hirt also dives deep into the impact these reforms would have on the UK capital markets and how “enabling the use of blockchain and AI across our financial market infrastructure and testing of stablecoins in the digital securities sandbox” would allow for
a “more competitive approach to stablecoin regulation by the UK regulators.”
Laurent Descout, CEO and co-founder, Neo feels positive about these changes but reiterates that there is more to be done. While he acknowledges that a “single regulatory point of contact will provide much-needed clarity and technical support,” “forward-looking
rules will boost confidence in digital assets and help pave the way for real-time payments to become the standard.”
What is missing from the Leeds Reforms
Commenting on the publication of the
Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy and ahead of Reeves’ speech, Nick Jones, founder and CEO, Zumo, shared that while she “occupies herself with tweaks to the country’s financial plumbing, investment cryptoassets - and the very real existing
consumer demand to access them - have been studiously ignored.”
Jones compared these developments in the UK to the US, where “there is a real buzz around ‘Crypto Week’, with a number of important digital asset laws set to be voted on. UK consumers are crying out for regulated access to quality cryptoasset investment
opportunities, with UK cryptoasset ownership rates already among some of the highest in the world."
He added: “Businesses respond to speed, clarity and a clear commercial route to market. With jurisdictions worldwide striding ahead in the crypto race, now is surely the time to capitalise on a resurgent retail market and show the world that the UK is open
for crypto business.”