UK Treasury chief says she'll slash finacial services red tape to boost investment
The government is trying to regain the economic initiative after rocky weeks of costly U-turns and figures showing the British economy contracted for two months running.
Reeves announced plans to pare back some of the regulations introduced after the 2008 global financial crisis, which was triggered by risky lending. That includes reforms to 'ring-fencing' rules enacted to separate banks' retail and investment banking activities, and a review of the amount of capital banks must hold.
She said it was the widest set of reforms of financial services in more than a decade.
'We are fundamentally reforming the regulatory system, freeing up firms to take risks and to drive growth,' Reeves said on a visit to Leeds in northern England.
Reeves will outline the changes later at the annual Mansion House speech to finance bigwigs in London, the Treasury said. She plans to say that financial services are 'at the heart of the government's growth mission … with a ripple effect that will drive investment in all sectors of our economy and put pounds in the pockets of working people.'
The Treasury said Reeves also will hail the 'instant impact' for prospective homebuyers of new Bank of England guidance allowing mortgage-lenders to loan more than 4.5 times a buyer's income.
Monday Mornings
The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
The center-left Labour Party won a landslide election victory in July 2024, but has struggled to deliver on its pledge to boost economic growth.
Efforts to soothe markets and demonstrate fiscal prudence have proved unpopular with voters. A decision to end winter home heating subsidies for millions of retirees, announced soon after the election, was reversed last month. Earlier this month the government ditched planned cuts to welfare spending after an outcry from Labour lawmakers.
The U-turns have reduced the Treasury's future income by several billion pounds, increasing the likelihood of tax increases in the fall. But the government has boxed itself in by ruling out hikes to sales tax or to income tax for employees.
Questions swirled about Reeves' future earlier this month when she appeared in tears in the House of Commons during the weekly prime minister's questions session. The Treasury said Reeves was dealing with a 'personal matter.'
The cost of government borrowing spiked at the sight of Reeves' tears, but settled down after Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave her his full backing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
26 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Russian attacks in Ukraine kill a child and wound 24 before planned direct peace talks
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces struck three Ukrainian cities in overnight attacks, killing a child and wounding at least 24 people, officials said Tuesday, a day before a planned third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's announcement late Monday that the negotiations would take place generated little hope they would deliver any progress on ending the three-year war. That is despite the Trump administration's efforts to push forward peace efforts, which have stalled as Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to budge from his demands.
Winnipeg Free Press
26 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bangladesh mourns 31 dead in jet crash as students protest to demand accountability
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Hundreds of students protested near the site of the crash of a Bangladesh air force training jet into a school in the nation's capital, demanding accountability, compensation for victims' families and the halt of training flights. The death toll from the crash rose to 31 on Tuesday, including 25 students, a teacher who died from burn injuries she sustained while helping others get out of the burning building, and the pilot of the training aircraft. Firefighters further secured the scene of the crash in Dhaka's densely-populated Uttara neighborhood while an investigation by the military was ongoing. The country's civil aviation authority was not involved in the investigation directly. Bangladesh, in shock after the crash involving its air force, marked Tuesday as a national day of mourning, with the national flag flying at half-staff across the country. Monday's crash at the Milestone School and College caused a fire that left the two-story school building in Dhaka in flames. Officials said 171 people, mostly students and many with burns, were rescued and taken from the scene in helicopters, ambulances, motorized rickshaws and in the arms of firefighters and parents. The students protesting outside the crash site at the Milestone School and College demanded 'accurate' publication of identities of the dead and injured, compensation for the families, and an immediate halt to the use of 'outdated and unsafe' training aircraft by the Bangladesh air force. They chanted slogans and accused security officials of beating them and manhandling teachers on Monday. The students also became furious after two senior government advisers arrived at the scene, forcing the officials to take cover. On Tuesday, 78 people, mostly students, remained hospitalized, said Sayeedur Rahman, a special assistant to Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus. Twenty deaths were reported initially, and seven died of their injuries overnight, authorities said. Maherin Chowdhury, a teacher who rescued more than 20 students from the burning school, died from severe burn injuries, her colleague Tanzina Tanu said. Doctors said late Monday that the condition of about two dozen injured remained critical. A blood donation camp has been opened at a specialized burn hospital where most of the injured were being treated. Twenty bodies have been handed over to their families, with some of them possibly needing DNA matching after they were charred beyond recognition. Many relatives waited overnight at a specialized burn hospital for the bodies of their loved ones. The Chinese-made F-7 BGI training aircraft experienced a 'technical malfunction' moments after takeoff from the A.K. Khandaker air force base at 1:06 p.m. Monday, according to a statement from the military. The pilot, Flight Lt. Mohammed Toukir Islam, made 'every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location,' the military said, adding that it would investigate the cause of the crash. The Milestone school, about an 11-kilometer (7-mile) drive from the air force base, is in a densely populated area near a metro station and numerous shops and homes. It was the pilot's first solo flight as he was completing his training course. It remained unclear if he managed to eject before the jet hit the building. The first funeral prayers were held for the pilot in Dhaka on Tuesday morning and second prayers will be held in southwestern Rajshahi district where his parents live. It is the deadliest plane crash in the Bangladeshi capital in recent memory. In 2008, another F-7 training jet crashed outside Dhaka, killing its pilot, who had ejected after he discovered a technical problem.
Winnipeg Free Press
26 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Russian attacks in Ukraine kill a child and wound 24 before planned direct peace talks
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces struck three Ukrainian cities in overnight attacks, killing a child and wounding at least 24 people, officials said Tuesday, a day before a planned third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's announcement late Monday that the negotiations would take place generated little hope they would deliver any progress on ending the three-year war. That is despite the Trump administration's efforts to push forward peace efforts, which have stalled as Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to budge from his demands. The previous two rounds were held in Istanbul, and Russian media reports said the Turkish city likely would also host the meeting this time. The talks in May and June led to a series of exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers but produced no other agreements. The war has continued unabated, meanwhile. Russia is driving hard to break through at eastern and northeastern points on the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. It is also firing upwards of 700 drones a night at Ukrainian cities. From dusk on Monday evening, Russia struck the Ukrainian regions of Sumy in the northeast, Odesa in the south and eastern Kramatorsk. In Kramatorsk, a glide bomb hit an apartment building, starting a fire, according to the head of the city's military administration, Oleksandr Honcharenko. A boy born in 2015 was killed, local officials said, without giving his exact age. Five other people were reported wounded. The Sumy region came under multiple waves of attacks, the regional military administration reported. A drone hit a gas station in the town of Putyvl, wounding four people, including a 5-year-old boy, it said. A second drone strike hit the same location less than two hours later, wounding seven more. After dark, two powerful Russian glide bombs were dropped on Sumy city, wounding 13 people, including a 6-year-old boy. According to regional authorities, five apartment buildings, two private homes and a shopping mall were damaged in the attack. Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said the blasts shattered windows and destroyed balconies in residential buildings. Also Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 35 Ukrainian long-range drones over several regions overnight, including three over the Moscow region. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at
