BBA welcomes Government call for flexibility in EU regulation

The British Bankers’ Association welcomes the Government’s acknowledgement that a one-size-fits-all approach to regulating EU financial services would not serve the best interests of the UK.

In a speech to the Centre for European Reform, Economic Secretary and City Minister Kitty Ussher said the government was committed to achieving the best regulatory result for the UK, stressing the need for flexibility to allow markets to prosper.

Her comments echo previous calls from the BBA for more streamlined regulation of financial services for the benefit of customers and banks.

BBA Chief Executive Angela Knight said: “We are delighted the Government has taken on board our members’ concerns. Our goal is a competitive industry in a flexible, responsive environment. We need to create a regulatory environment that is sensitive to the needs of both the industry and the consumer.

“Flexibility and streamlined regulation are the key. We have said quite clearly that there needs to be better co-ordination and less duplication, and that regulators need to be close to the markets and banks they regulate.”

The BBA also welcomes Kitty Ussher’s commitment to making the Lamfalussy arrangements work more effectively, through “evolution not revolution”.

The BBA set out its detailed views in September in a series of recommendations to the Lamfalussy review into European financial regulation.

In its report, the BBA said the Lamfalussy process was robust and effective and had brought about more discussion and better understanding among Europe’s financial services markets and regulators. But it recommends further improvements and points to the need to reduce the duplication and expense associated with multiple regulators under current arrangements.