Nigel Farage: City regulator ‘is a disaster’
Nigel Farage has branded the Financial Conduct Authority a “disaster” as he promised his party would overhaul the City’s regulatory landscape.
The Reform UK leader – who is hosting the party’s annual conference this weekend – is a strong contender to take the keys to 10 Downing Street in the next general election.
Allies of Farage have told the Financial Times: “Nigel thinks the FCA is a disaster and banking regulation needs to go back to the Bank of England.”
Farage’s regulatory reform priorities are understood to be stripping the FCA of its role in regulating banks.
Regulation of the banking industry is split between the Bank of England and FCA.
The central bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) focuses on the financial stability and safety of banks whilst the FCA leans more into the way firms treat customers and conduct their business.
Farage plots Bank of England overhaul
It comes as Farage and his party have expressed interest for government to play a stronger role in Bank of England decisions.
Richard Tice, who has often led on Reform’s economic rhetoric, previously told The Times “one or two” Treasury officials should sit on the monetary policy committee (MPC).
This would mark a major shift in the bank’s independence on monetary policy. However, Tice argued “just because the current model has been in place for 30 years, it doesn’t mean it’s working as well as it could be”.
Reform have been bullish on wiping regulatory barriers in the UK and have doubled down on plans to push cryptocurrency.
But economists have hit back criticising Reform’s plans to cut down capital gains taxes on crypto from 10 per cent from 24 per cent and establish a “sovereign Bitcoin reserve fund”.
Simon French, economist at Panmure Liberum said there wasn’t much economic policy to be found in Reform’s new Cryptoassets and Digital Finance Bill.
“It is hard to see through an economic lens when the politics is so obviously the driving force,” French previously told CityAM.