City Reforms in England - Another Half-Step in the Right Direction!

As Jeremy Hunt sweeps away many regulations put in place after the financial crisis of 2008 there are legitimate questions about whether it’s safe to do so.

The Government says our financial services industry is being held back by rules that either should no longer apply or have been supplanted by the new realities of politics, technology and society.

Their view is that Britain’s financial services sector can be unleashed in all its glory now we are no longer shackled by the EU’s regulatory straitjacket. The aim is to unlock investment, create jobs and provide ‘opportunity’.

Critics are clearly worried about looser regulation leading to excessive risk taking and another round of bailouts that we can ill afford.

We shall see … the details are yet to be finalised.

The point is there is a moment here to reassess our relationship with the banking industry.

The UK is in a position to take a lead.

There is another way.

By all means let’s make Britain once again the innovatory force in the financial world – but let’s make it the whole of Britain, not just a self-selecting coterie of international corporate lackeys, focused on shareholder returns and quarterly bonuses.

Banking and the management of money are too important to be left to the whims of global companies. Their interests are not aligned with those of our citizens.

Money is the lifeblood of our economy and it must be kept healthy. By which I mean endless credit creation that drives up asset prices is not the answer.

Government has a role to create the framework in which we all operate – but meeting people’s true needs must be at the heart of this.

A healthy nation has an economy driven by productive businesses interweaving to provide for its people – managing public infrastructure and services, maintaining the land and real estate for the benefit of all, and developing technology that serves our needs rather than enriching a few and enslaving the rest.

Banking is a vital part of this – securitisation for the sake of profit is not.

Help me make our Government take notice – if we all shout loud enough, they will be forced to listen!

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