In Focus Consumer Credit Taking steps
The finance industry is making progress to benefit a range of stakeholders
Stephen Jones Chief executive, UK Finance
In 2019 seven cross-cutting priorities have underpinned all our member activities: l Purpose. l Competitiveness. l Operational resilience. l Safety and transparency. lMarket reforms. l Adapting to technological change. l And Brexit – of course. Seven areas which I hope you will agree
are appropriately prioritised and where we have been making real progress with you and on your behalf. I do not propose to list our achievements,
but would like to thank our staff, members, and associate members who have helped us deliver across this critical agenda. Without their commitment, we would not be as effective.
Purpose and the value of the financial-services sector I did mention our work on the topic of ‘purpose’. Last month, the Business
Roundtable, the organisation for CEOs of many of the largest US corporations, made headlines by redefining the purpose of a business – and turning their back on Milton Friedman. No longer, they said, should shareholder
value be the primary aim – instead companies should focus on the value they deliver to all stakeholders. So how does the finance-and-banking
sector really demonstrate that it acts beyond its own narrow self-interest and that of its capital providers? Why should the UK be happy about
continuing to have a world leading and large financial centre on its shores? Would it matter so much if the financial-
services sector was smaller? If our economy was more ‘balanced’ as some politicians think? It is clear that many in our country still
need persuading that the measures we seek to maintain and enhance the industry’s future competitiveness are worth it. So how do we, as the Business Roundtable
said, demonstrate that the purpose of the industry goes far beyond shareholder value? I believe that the value which the UK
financial-services sector delivers for the whole of the UK should be clear. This is an industry which provides the
finance SMEs need to grow, with £58bn in gross lending last year and eight in 10 loan applications approved. And which puts things right when things
go wrong – the Business Banking Resolution Service will be up and running later this year offering fast and effective dispute resolution for SMEs. This is an industry which helps families
to buy their own homes with £1.2tn in mortgage lending to home owners, and
October 2019
www.CCRMagazine.com
This is an industry which employs 430,000 people across Britain, contributing over £36bn in taxes to the UK public finances in 2017-2018 and exporting almost £60bn in financial services
helps those whose finances may not be well organised to manage their money day-to- day with some eight million basic bank accounts. All the while protecting customers from
fraud by stopping £2 in every £3 of attempted fraud or around £1.7bn in 2018. This is an industry which employs
430,000 people across Britain, contributing over £36bn in taxes to the UK public finances in 2017-2018 and exports almost £60bn in financial services. This is an industry which has created a
globally competitive financial centre – with 79 IPOs listing in London last year, raising £9.5bn and some $6.6tn of foreign exchange turnover in the UK a day – up nearly 30% since the Brexit referendum of 2016 and representing a global market share up six percentage points to 43% compared to the US, for example, at 17%. In OTC derivatives such as interest-rate
swaps, daily volumes have increased to $6.5tr a day representing a global market share of 50%. London remains even more
central to global financial markets >> 23
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