On Thursday 14 November, Rachel Reeves delivered her first Mansion House speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a historic moment as the first woman to hold this position. Declaring that regulation had “gone too far” after the 2008 banking crash, Reeves revealed her bold vision for modernising the UK financial services sector and unlocking a new era of investment.
Leveraging Financial Services for Economic Growth
As promised in Labour’s Financing Growth Report, and following in the footsteps of former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Reeves’ speech focused heavily on pension reform. Dominating press coverage is the Chancellor’s plans to consolidate the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) into 8 larger entities (pools), designed to create £500 billion “megafunds” by 2030.
The idea of consolidating LGPS pensions is not a new one, with previous government action to pool the assets of local pension funds, aimed at addressing perceived inefficiencies and unlocking opportunities for larger-scale investments. The Chancellor believes ‘fragmentation’ in the system – 86 administering authorities managing funds independently – is a barrier to maximising returns. However, this concept is not without its critics, some arguing these further reforms are unnecessary, and Reeves will need to carefully balance the benefits of scale with safeguards to ensure that the interests of local government employers and funds are not sidelined.
Reeves’ Mansion House reform package also continues to address perceived inefficiencies in the defined contribution (DC) sector. Again, the Chancellor believes that maximising returns and ensuring there is enough investment risk taken at the right time to generate long-term growth is fundamental to the effectiveness of these schemes. To tackle this the Government will consult on establishing minimum size requirements for DC pension funds.
The Chancellor also used Mansion House as an opportunity to build on former government proposals around green finance, publishing the much-delayed consultation of a UK Green Taxonomy and legislating to regulate ESG rating providers. These proposals, alongside expanding the Bank of England’s remit to include net-zero objectives, highlights Labour’s mission led approach to government that sustainable finance is not only a climate priority – it is also a driver of long-term economic stability and growth.
Unlocking innovation for growth
The announcement of the long overdue National Payments Vision is an important moment for the UK’s payment infrastructure. The lack of a cohesive strategy in digital finance until now has limited the UK’s ability to compete globally in this space. The devil will, of course, be in the detail, but the publication of the vision is a positive sign for the industry and the City more widely. With digital innovation laying at the heart of a number of these reforms, there is space for industry to work alongside Government to ensure the strategy’s collaborative implementation.
A framework for confidence and growth
The Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy also announced by Reeves reflects the Government’s efforts to ensure long-term stability while seizing growth opportunities. The strategy prioritizes five key areas—FinTech, sustainable finance, asset management, (re)insurance, and capital markets—which government believes build on the UK’s historic strengths and attempt to position the country, as a global leader in emerging fields like green finance.
This initiative underscores the Government’s path of EU ‘reset’ and upholding the special relationship with the US. This is a delicate path to tread, and success will depend on whether the vision can balance innovation with regulatory clarity and address the need for long-term investor confidence. The strategy sits alongside a number of modernisation proposals the Chancellor set out, including instructing the key regulators to prioritise growth within their mandates.
Conclusion
Reeves’ speech comes at a pivotal time for the Government, following the mixed reception to the recent Autumn Budget. Balancing these ambitious reforms with the practicalities of implementation will be critical, and their success hinges on collaboration with industry and clear guidance from regulators. Whilst the Opposition has raised concerns that the reforms will be undermined by the Chancellor’s Budget, Reeves’ focus on investment, reform and stability is an obvious attempt to lay the groundwork for a resilient, competitive and sustainable financial ecosystem.
The proposals’ objectives are to maintain the UK’s status as a global financial hub, and the financial services sector should seek to proactivity engage as consultations unfold and strategies take shape.