Financial and Professional Services: Mansion House Speech

Last night I delivered my annual speech at the financial and professional services dinner at Mansion House.

In my speech, I announced a package of further reforms to unlock investment across the country, increase access to finance for growing businesses, and position the UK at the forefront of financial innovation.

The Government welcomed the outcomes of the Financial Policy Committee’s bank capital review, including reforms to the leverage framework and capital buffers that support lending while maintaining resilience. It has also published consultations on ringfencing reforms, including a new growth allowance for ringfenced banks that could unlock up to £80 billion of financing for UK businesses, as announced in May. The Government have also welcomed new figures from the Association of British Insurers showing that UK life insurers have invested £16.8 billion in UK productive assets between 2024 and the end of the first half of 2025, putting the sector on track to meet its pledge to invest £100 billion in UK productive assets over 10 years.

The Government have expanded the growth guarantee scheme to facilitate around £3.35 billion of small and medium-sized enterprise lending per year by 2028-29. They also confirm that they will make up to £500 million of British Business Bank ENABLE Guarantee capacity available for lending to innovative and intellectual property-rich firms; and have announced a new UK Export Finance guarantee product, delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank, to support smaller businesses that are exporting or looking to begin exporting. It is also building on nearly £120 million already committed through the British Business Bank’s community ENABLE funding programme, with a new ambition to scale the programme to at least £500 million over the next five years.

The wholesale digital markets champion, Chris Woolard CBE, has published his first report on tokenisation, which will help to drive a cross-sectoral approach to digitalising UK markets. The Government have confirmed their intention to issue the first digital gilt instrument no later than the first quarter of 2027, and intend to prepare for potential further issuances, subject to the success of the first transaction. The Bank of England has approved the first firm to undertake live activity in the digital securities sandbox, and the dematerialisation market action taskforce has published its implementation plan for removing paper shares by the end of 2027. The Government have also set out progress on crypto asset and stablecoin regulation, including final rules from the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, and have published updates to tax rules to facilitate the use of stablecoins and certain crypto asset loans and liquidity pools. The Government have published a consultation on modernising payment services regulation, and welcomed the financial services AI adoption plan, authored by the financial services AI champions—Harriet Rees and Dr Rohit Dhawan—which sets out practical recommendations to accelerate safe and responsible AI adoption across the sector. Finally, the Government have committed to consult on an open finance regulatory framework in 2027, focused on small and medium-sized enterprise lending.