“We welcome the Chancellor's Mansion House speech (15 July 2025) and the publication of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy – the ‘Leeds Reforms’. Given the well-publicised concerns from the City on financial services policy, it is unsurprising there is a strong focus on reducing the regulatory burden on financial firms and on enhancing the continued competitiveness of the UK as a place to do business.
From a Corporate Treasury perspective, it's important to have a strong financial services sector to meet the needs of business. While we will need to work through the details, we are encouraged that some of the associated proposals - such as digitisation initiatives, structural reforms to the payments system, and the easing of some capital requirements for banks – should allow money to move around the economy more efficiently. And as the professional association for corporate treasury, we are pleased the Chancellor reaffirmed that skills and access to talent are one of the five central pillars of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.
Whilst a healthy financial sector is a necessary precondition for growth, it is not in itself sufficient to give businesses in the 'real economy' the clarity, stability and opportunities needed to invest with confidence. More will need to be done to implement the other strands of the Government’s industrial policy and create a joined-up approach.
We welcome the establishment of a new Listings Taskforce to support companies to list and grow in the UK, for example, and we hope that the dedicated Office of Investment: Financial Services – a “concierge” service for attracting incoming business - will benefit corporate treasury centres as well as financial firms. However, more could be done to alleviate the burden of day to day 'red tape' on corporates; for example by reducing the disproportionate and repetitive 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) requirements.
Above all, it will be vital that yesterday’s announcements are complemented and not undermined by fiscal policy announcements in the forthcoming Autumn Budget Statement, since further tax hikes on businesses would be counterproductive and potentially outweigh any benefits from the Leeds Reforms."
