The Treasury Committee has launched an inquiry into how financial services will operate after the Brexit transition period ends, with a focus on the regulatory framework and how it is funded.
The inquiry, which launched today (November 20), will look into how financial services regulations should be set and scrutinised by Parliament after EU directives no longer govern new rules and regulations.
It will also consider how regulators are funded and the extent to which regulations should be consumer-focused.
In particular the committee will examine whether regulators’ roles and mandates should be changed to include wider public policy issues and how important it is to maintain regulators’ independence.
It will also look into how consumer interests should be taken into account when making changes to regulations and what possible amendments could be made to the regulatory framework once the UK is independent of the European Union.
Mel Stride, chairman of the Treasury Committee, said: “The financial services sector is a crucial component of the UK economy. There are choices to be made by the UK government that will have long-lasting impacts on the future of the sector.
“As part of our new inquiry, we’ll examine how the sector can best take advantage of the new trading environment, what regulatory changes should be made, and what role Parliament should play in influencing and scrutinising such changes.
“We’ll make a series of recommendations for how the government, public bodies and the sector itself can ensure that the UK remains a premier financial centre.”
The deadline for evidence submissions is 5pm on January 8, 2021.
The previous committee launched a similar inquiry in early 2019 but due to extensions to the Article 50 process, the inquiry did not hold any oral evidence sessions as it waited for a definitive outcome from the exit process.
The inquiry then ended without taking any oral evidence due to further delays caused by the 2019 general election.
In a policy paper published in February, the government set out its hopes for the future of financial services regulation saying any future agreement should "promote financial stability, market integrity and investor protection", including a legally binding obligation on market access and fair competition.
The government said any agreement between the UK and EU after December should provide a "predictable, transparent, and business-friendly environment for cross-border financial services business".
amy.austin@ft.com
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