The ACT has welcomed the European Commission Green Paper: Long term financing of the European economy as a recognition that the provision of finance to business is crucial for economic growth.
Immediately following the financial crisis the legislative imperative has been to restore financial stability but in so doing the focus mistakenly gave little consideration of the impact on the real economy. There is a need for some recalibration of regulatory requirements so that due regard is given to the potentially negative impact on businesses from financial services regulation.
As detailed in the 2012 ACT working group report into developing a UK private placement market, we hope that the barriers holding back investors can be removed, so that this form of non-bank finance is more readily available.