Former Financial Services Authority boss Hector Sants has been commissioned by the British Bankers’ Association to review the competitiveness of the UK on behalf of the banking industry.
He will lead a team from management consultancy Oliver Wyman, which should report back in the autumn as to whether over-regulation since the financial crisis has led British banks to lose their competitive edge.
Commenting on this and speculation that some banks could leave the UK due to uncertainty around the European Union membership referendum, Anthony Browne, BBA chief executive, said there is rising concern that the country is becoming an uncompetitive place to do business.
“Some banks have recently moved operations and jobs out of the UK due to punitive hikes in bank taxes, other banks have deferred decisions about whether to invest in Britain until after the referendum.
“A prolonged period of uncertainty over the UK’s membership of the EU and its access to the single market could undermine international banks who are big employers in Britain,” he stated, adding that st the same time tough new regulatory measures are making it more difficult for UK banks to compete in global markets.
The review will aim to present the new government with a series of recommendations to make sure that the UK “continues to benefit from the hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of taxes that are currently provided by the banking industry in this country”, according to Mr Browne.
peter.walker@ft.com
