King Charles has revealed a series of financial services reforms in his King's Speech annual address in the House of Lords today, mark the start of the Parliamentary year.
Delivered at 11:30am, his second speech under the current government unveiled 35 bills and draft bills.
The reforms to financial services regulation are aimed at driving growth and innovation, as well as giving businesses the confidence to invest and grow.
The City reforms focus on cutting regulation to help stimulate growth with the King saying British businesses will be supported with bills "to reduce the burden of unnecessary regulation through innovation".
The speech had been expected to include proposed reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service. However, beyond a brief mention of regulation, no further details were included within the speech itself.
The FOS is currently working with the FCA and Treasury to deliver a series of reforms to the redress system. The Ombudsman has said it expects the majority of these changes to take place over the next two financial years.
Further detail on those FOS reforms, and other measures to reduce the regulatory burden, is expected to be included within the expanded details of the bills. The full documentation is usually published soon after the King's Speech concludes.
The FCA has already begun to make changes to streamline some of its rules in a drive to cut red tape.
The FCA and PRA are currently working with the Government on legislative changes to the regime, including removing the SMCR and increasing flexibility for regulators to reduce the number of senior management functions which require pre-approval.
It first began reviews of the SMCR in December 2022 as part of the government's Edinburgh Reforms.
Several advice firms have welcomed the consultation paper, saying that it provides much needed clarification of the rules around ongoing advice.
Another area addressed in today’s speech was the introduction of digital IDs, to "modernise" how citizens interact with public services.
The speech also addressed the introduction of laws to tackle cyber attacks.
The King's Speech is in fact written by the current Government, and lays out its legislative agenda for the upcoming year.
The Government has made no secret of its desire for a more competitive financial services regime to be a key driver for UK economic growth.
Following the speech, the Commons will debate its contents for around six days before voting on its content. Governments do not often lose this vote when they hold a majority, as the current Labour government still holds.
Beyond financial services regulation, today's speech also focused on measures to control the cost of living and general economic security. Measures included a bill to help with tackling late payments, investment in apprenticeships, a bill to strengthen ties with the EU, and measures addressing energy security and defence.