Britain's finance and banking industry has a new lobby body from today (3 July), UK Finance.
The new organisation will take on most of the activities previously carried out by the Asset Based Finance Association, the British Bankers’ Association, the Council of Mortgage Lenders, Financial Fraud Action UK, Payments UK and The UK Cards Association.
It will represent over 300 firms in the UK providing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services.
UK Finance is led by CEO Stephen Jones who has previously worked in a wide range of roles in finance for nearly 30 years, including for Santander, Barclays, Citigroup and Schroders.
Bob Wigley, who has held several senior positions in financial services, including as EMEA chairman of Merrill Lynch and as a member of the Court of the Bank of England, is the organisation’s chair.
Mr Jones said: “The UK’s finance and banking sector is undergoing an exciting transformation with innovation and technology revolutionising customer services; from tapping a card or mobile phone to make payments, securing a mortgage via video chat or using Big Data to combat financial crime, the boundaries between banking services are blurring, enabling the industry to become more efficient and customer-focused.
“For the UK’s finance and banking sector, these changes present new opportunities and fresh challenges which require a coordinated voice to best support it going forward.
"UK Finance will be that fresh voice: representing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services across the UK and bringing together the expertise and reach of the constituent organisations to achieve the best outcomes for our members and their customers.”
