Key Facts

• Sir Jon Cunliffe is the deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank of England.
• The session aims to discuss the UK's international competitiveness in financial regulation and the Financial Services and Markets Bill's impact on it.
• The current regulatory framework is designed for 27 EU member states.
• Cunliffe mentions £23 trillion as the size of the UK financial system (about 10 times GDP).
• Call-in powers proposed by the Government may cause concern due to historical context and potential impact on regulator independence.
• Cunliffe refers to Andrew Bailey's letter stating that weakening regulator independence would undermine reform aims.
• The FCA confirmed the robustness of Singapore regulation, noting $700 million worth of business contrasted with fewer firms set up in the UK due to regulatory competitiveness.
• Schedule 6 of the Bill will provide regulators with powers for stablecoin and digital asset frameworks.
• Virendra Sharma is chairing the Committee hearing oral evidence from Paddy Greene.
• The session focuses on access to cash and authorised push payment fraud.
• Andrew Griffith asks about striking the right balance between consumer protection and regulatory burdens on firms.
• The trade-off between consumer protection and market accessibility is discussed.
• Buy now, pay later credit forms are currently unregulated.
• A review of the Consumer Credit Act 19774 is planned later this year.
• Virendra Sharma is concluding the session.
• Natalie Ceeney chairs the Cash Action Group.
• Martin Coppack is director of Fair by Design.
• The voluntary scheme was modelled as if the Bill were already implemented.
• LINK reviews community needs independently when requested or if a branch or ATM closure occurs.
• Since January 1st, 25 new hubs have been announced and pilot services are being explored in 13 communities.
• Governments have asked individuals to take responsibility for their financial affairs.
• Insurers are increasingly finding individualised risk per person, leading to higher insurance premiums for those considered a higher risk.
• People in poverty pay £300 more annually on average for insurance due to postcode and an additional £150 if they cannot afford upfront payments.
• Each parliamentary constituency loses around £4.5 million yearly due to the poverty premium.
• Constituents in specific areas like Vale of Clwyd, Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, and West Dunbartonshire face significant costs accessing their money.
• The FCA's report identified about 27 million people with characteristics of vulnerability related to buying insurance.
• A second piece of work with the Social Market Foundation is calling again for data collection by the FCA and understanding whether pricing issues are market or social policy problems.
• Over seventy organizations have signed a call for the FCA to consider financial inclusion in its remit.
• The Financial Services and Markets Bill is being examined in the Public Bill Committee.
• The session concludes at 3:25 pm.
• William Wright is the founder and managing director of New Financial, a capital markets think-tank.
• The UK's market share of European green finance activity is about 14%, significantly lower than its overall capital markets share.
• In the EU, roughly 20% of all capital markets activity was green in the previous year; in the UK, it was only 9%.
• NYSE Euronext’s founding CEO predicted in 2007 that London would regret attracting Russian companies to list on its exchange.
• Robin Fieth is chief executive of the Building Societies Association representing UK's 43 mutual building societies and seven large credit unions.
• Robert Kelly is CEO of the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd, representing 157 credit unions across Great Britain.
• The Financial Services and Markets Bill aims to update financial services legislation nearly a quarter-century after the last major reform.
• The Credit Unions Act 1979 is undergoing its most significant legislative reform since its enactment in 1979.
• About 2 million people are currently served by credit unions.
• Approximately 20 to 21 credit unions across the country have taken advantage of corporate lending and SME lending opportunities.
• The first trustee savings bank was set up in Dumfriesshire in 1810.
• The last trustee savings bank went into run-off within the last five or six years, specifically the Airdrie Savings Bank.
• Credit unions serve 2 million people and aim to expand further.
• Bradford District Credit Union works with local authorities on financial resilience initiatives.
• Credit unions will be able to offer car finance under personal contract purchase or hire purchase for the first time.
• The Bill allows credit unions to immerse back into general insurance mediation.
• Eight credit unions went into administration in just over a year, compared to only one in the preceding three years.
• Mike Haley is the chief executive officer of CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service.
• CIFAS has 600 members mainly from financial services including banks, fintechs, alternative lenders, and mortgage providers.
• Push payment fraud and APP (Authorised Push Payment) reimbursement limits are being discussed.
• Scammers use social media to reach millions of people.
• Organised crime turns to fraud due to low risk and high returns.
• Faster payments make it hard for banks to identify fraudulent transactions.
• Cryptoassets are often used to dissipate scam funds.
• Regulatory perimeter should extend to cryptoassets with anti-money laundering standards.
• Data sharing agreements beyond just banks could prevent fraud.
• Virendra Sharma concludes the questioning session.
• Adam Jackson, policy director for Innovate Finance, is introduced to provide evidence.
• The Committee has until 4:40 pm.
• The UK is No. 2 in fintech investment globally.
• The Bill proposes new regulations for stablecoin, which are welcomed by Sharma.
• Investment in UK fintech declined to £9.6 billion in the first half of this year compared to last year.
• Virendra Sharma introduces the Minister and calls for oral evidence from Martin Taylor.
• Martin Taylor has spent seven years until March 2020 as a member of the Financial Policy Committee at the Bank of England.
• Martin Taylor has acted as an adviser to political figures including Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, and George Osborne.
• Martin Taylor describes the proposed intervention powers as a 'shockingly bad idea'.
• He states these powers will undermine regulatory independence and erode the institutional framework.
• Taylor notes the Government has significant influence over regulatory processes through appointments and advisory roles.
• The Financial Services and Markets Bill is being discussed in a Public Bill Committee.
• The session was closed by Virendra Sharma on behalf of the Committee.
• The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 25 at 9:25 am.