This document accompanies the introduction into Parliament of the Financial Services Bill (HC Bill 278, session 2010-12, ISBN 9780215039545 and Explanatory notes Bill 278-EN, ISBN 9780215039132) and explains the Government's final proposals to reform the failed system of financial services regulation. These proposals follow on from extensive consultation, and a draft of the Bill was subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee (report published as HL Paper 236/HC 1447, ISBN 9780108474064). This document details the main changes the Government is making to the Bill. Chapters cover: Bank of England and Financial Policy Committee; Prudential Regulation Authority; Financial Conduct Authority; regulatory processes and coordination; European and international regulation. Annexes include the Government's responses to the Joint Committee and to the Treasury Committee's inquiries into financial services regulation. The core proposals are: to establish a strong and expert macro-prudential authority, the Financial Policy Committee within the Bank of England to monitor and respond to systemic risks; to transfer responsibility for micro-prudential management of firms that manage complex risks on their balance sheets to a focused new regulator, the Prudential Regulatory Authority; and to provide for a focused new conduct of business regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, to ensure that business across financial services and markets is conducted in a way that advances the interests of all users and participants. In any future crisis it will be clear that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is in charge. Regulation of consumer credit will be brought within the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority.

In recent years the UK's macroeconomic policy framework has undergone a period of radical reform so as to deliver the economic stability necessary to achieve high levels of growth and employment. This book provides a comprehensive account of these reforms, which constitute a new and innovative approach to policy making. Radical changes to the monetary policy framework, the fiscal policy framework, the regime for public spending and financial regulation are presented. Together they represent a coherent strategy to deliver economic stability and benefits to the wider economy. As well as providing an unprecedented insight into UK Government economic policy, the book takes the reader through the intellectual foundations of policy reform and the translation of these to applied policy making. Reforming Britain's Economic and Financial Policy contains a foreword by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown.

The UK and Multi-level Financial Regulation examines the role of the United Kingdom (UK) in shaping post-crisis financial regulatory reform, and assesses the implications of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (EU). It develops a domestic political economy approach to examine how the interaction of three domestic groups - elected officials, financial regulators, and the financial industry - shaped UK preferences, strategy, and influence in international and EU-level regulatory negotiations. The framework is applied to five case studies: bank capital and liquidity requirements; bank recovery and resolution rules; bank structural reforms; hedge fund regulation; and the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives. It concludes by reflecting on the future of UK financial regulation after Brexit. The book argues that UK regulators pursued more stringent regulation when they had strong political support to resist financial industry lobbying. UK regulators promoted international harmonisation of rules when this protected the competitiveness of industry or enabled cross-border externalities to be managed more effectively; but were often more resistant to new EU rules when these threatened UK interests. Consequently, the UK was more successful at shaping international standards by leveraging its market power, regulatory capacity, and alliance building (with the US). But it often met with greater political resistance at the EU level, forcing it to use legal challenges to block reform or secure exemptions. The book concludes that political and regulatory pressure was pivotal in defining the UK's 'hard' Brexit position, and so the future UK-EU relationship in finance will most likely be based on a framework of regulatory equivalence.

This document outlines the Government's programme of reform to renew the UK's system of financial regulation. It believes that weaknesses were inherent in the tripartite approach whereby three authorities - the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury - were collectively responsible for financial stability. The Government will create a new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) in the Bank of England with primary statutory duty to maintain financial stability. The FPC will be given control of macro-prudential tools to ensure that systemic risks to financial stability are dealt with. This macro-prudential regulation must be co-ordinated with the prudential regulation of individual firms. Operational responsibility for prudential regulation will transfer from the FSA to a new subsidiary of the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority. The third development is the creation of a dedicated Consumer Protection and Markets Authority (CPMA) with a primary statutory responsibility to promote confidence in financial services and markets. Protection of consumers will be delivered though a strong consumer division within CPMA. The document also covers: the issue of market regulation; co-ordination of the regulatory bodies in a potential crisis; the next steps, including public consultation, legislative passage and operational implementation. The Government will, after considering responses, produce more detailed proposals - including draft legislation - for further consultation in early 2011, with a view to having legislation on the statute book within two years.