UK mulls merging financial regulators to ease barriers to growth

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds signaled that some of the UK’s financial regulators could be scrapped or merged as part of the Labour government’s drive to spur growth by cutting red tape.

Reynolds made the remarks on Thursday after announcing measures to make the Competition and Markets Authority — Britain’s antitrust watchdog — “less risk-adverse.” The business secretary also raised the possibility of a broader shake up to the UK’s regulatory framework, which relies on a patchwork of agencies to protect consumers and police financial institutions.

“We’ve got to genuinely ask ourselves the question: have we got the right number of regulators?” Reynolds told reporters following a speech in London.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has zeroed in on deregulation to support the City of London and boost growth as budget constraints curb more direct efforts to stimulate the economy. The UK narrowly avoided a contraction at the end of Labour’s first calendar year in power, according to fourth-quarter gross domestic product data released earlier on Thursday.