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The Bank of England said it is considering creating a “concierge service” to help foreign companies looking to set up operations in the UK, in response to the government’s request for measures to boost growth.
Sam Woods, head of the Bank of England's prudential regulator, said in his letter to the Prime Minister published on Monday that the central bank is considering a similar service that Singapore already offers.
The government has called on the NRA and 16 other UK regulators to submit ideas for rule changes that could increase risk taking and investment in the economy. Sir Keir Starmer He pledged to “tear up” the bureaucracy as he sought to fulfill his promise to boost growth.
Woods said the risk assessment “recognizes and strongly supports” the government's focus on promoting growth and “responsible risk-taking”. But he explained that its main goal remains to maintain financial stability, without which growth will suffer.
“Our primary objectives are fundamentally related to stability, which is the basis for a predictable economic environment that allows households and businesses to have confidence in planning for the future and making investment and employment decisions,” he said.
The PCA has included several measures it has already identified to reduce the burden of regulation, such as delaying the introduction of Basel III on bank capital in the UK, simplifying capital rules for insurers, and raising the cap on bankers' bonuses.
Her letter to the Prime Minister, which was also sent to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, included relatively few new proposals beyond a concierge service and a commitment to removing overlapping regulations.
A similar letter from the head of the Financial Conduct Authority to the Prime Minister published last week included a number of new proposals, including considering reducing mortgage lending rules and anti-money laundering checks.
Reeves used her maiden Mansion House speech last November to accuse financial regulators of overreaching in rules introduced after the 2008 financial crisis and “regulating risk, but not regulating growth”.
Woods said he “would like to explore with colleagues at the Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade whether there are broader changes that could help simplify and rationalize the UK regulatory system or support UK growth in other ways.”
He said the PRA would free insurers from the need for a pre-emptive license for investments by allowing retrospective authorization. He added that the regulator would also outline plans to reduce reporting requirements for banks this year, having already reduced them by a third for insurers.
Woods said the FCA could work with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK Investment Office and other stakeholders to submit proposals for a concierge service later this year.
