Promoting the UK as a Treasury Centre - Legal and Regulatory considerations

The ACT sets out a regulatory roadmap to enhance the UK as the global home of corporate treasury centres

The UK could win a bigger share of the high-skilled, high-value jobs that come with being a global hub for corporate treasury, if the Government acts on a targeted package of legal and regulatory reforms, according to a paper from the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT).

The new paper, which forms part of the ACT's submission to HM Treasury's pre-Budget consultation, sets out how the UK can strengthen its position as a preferred home for corporate treasury centres, the specialist hubs where multinationals manage their cash, funding and financial risk.

The paper, which is informed by legal analysis from Slaughter and May, identifies a range of legal and regulatory reforms that could strengthen the UK's attractiveness - in competition with rival financial centres - as a base for international businesses managing cash, liquidity, funding and financial risk.

Corporate treasury centres play a critical role in supporting business investment and growth. They manage access to funding, oversee financial risk, facilitate international trade and serve as a key link between businesses and the wider financial system. The ACT believes the UK has an opportunity to build on its existing strengths as a global financial centre and attract a greater share of these high-value activities.

The Recommendations Include: 

Part I: Locating Treasury in the UK – measures directly relevant to the decision to site treasury operations in the UK, including tax friction points, regulatory perimeter issues, uncertainties and certain limitations of debt capital markets and derivatives regulation. 

Part II: Attracting Companies to the UK – measures relevant to corporate domiciliation and listing choices, including corporate and equity market reforms, which may have an indirect impact on siting decisions for treasury operations. 

Part III: Supporting a world-leading financial services sector – measures which are important to the functioning and availability of a high-quality financial services sector, which have knock-on effects for corporate customers in terms of the availability or cost of banking, capital markets and payments services. 

A practical first step and positive signal of intent could be for the Government to expand the remit of the Office for Investment: Financial Services (OfI:FS) which provides concierge‑style support to international financial services firms seeking to set up in the UK, specifically to include corporate treasury centres. 

There is an opportunity to use the UK’s current presidency of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to drive proportionate, technology-enabled international reform of Know Your Customer (‘KYC’) requirements, which can create significant cost and delay for businesses when opening and maintaining bank accounts or accessing other financial services. 

Annette Spencer, Chief Executive, ACT: "The UK remains one of the world's leading financial centres, but competition for international business is intensifying. Treasury centres bring highly skilled jobs, support investment decisions and create demand for a wide range of professional and financial services.  We recognise that legal and regulatory factors are not the only considerations influencing where multinational businesses choose to locate key financial operations. But this paper helps illustrate how a targeted programme of reform would send a powerful signal that the UK is open for business and committed to maintaining its competitiveness."  

James Winterton, Associate Director Policy & Technical, ACT, added: “Regulatory ‘friction’ can act as a brake on the efficient financing of business growth.  The challenge could be likened to Gulliver being tied down by the many threads of the Lilliputians – it will require a number of threads to be cut to help Gulliver get back on his feet.”  

Download the Paper 

Promoting the UK as a Treasury Centre – Legal and Regulatory considerations is a discussion paper prepared by the ACT in collaboration with Slaughter and May. Download the paper.

About the ACT

The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) is the professional body for treasurers and associated roles in the UK and beyond. Our purpose is to set standards and qualifications in treasury, support and develop treasurers throughout their careers, and ensure the voice of the real economy is heard by regulators, policymakers and employers. We were one of the first professional bodies in treasury, established in the 1970s, and we are the only treasury association to hold a Royal Charter.

Media Enquiries

For media enquiries, please contact Henry Thompson, Director of Policy & Public Affairs at the Association of Corporate Treasurers, at hthompson@treasurers.org.

Technical Enquiries

Please see the contacts listed within the discussion paper.