“We are
committed to rebalancing risk across the industry which can spur growth,” said
Dominic Holland, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) director of market
oversight, during remarks at the Association of Corporate Treasurers Annual
Conference. “Decreasing regulatory burden is a focus. But not at the expense of
consumer protection.”

FCA Signals
Growth-Oriented Shift in Regulatory Approach

The UK’s FCA
is preparing to recalibrate its regulatory posture to better support capital
market growth, signaling a shift that aims to reduce compliance burdens for
issuers while retaining strong standards for investor protection.

Holland
described the regulator’s new direction as becoming a “smarter regulator:
predictable, purposeful and proportionate,” and emphasized the importance of
close collaboration with market participants. “We want to innovate and take on
the right risks to encourage growth,” he said.

The message
reflects the FCA’s evolving role as it adapts to new political and economic
realities following the UK’s departure from the European Union. Industry
stakeholders have long called for a more agile domestic regulatory framework to
counteract the decline in initial public offerings and capital raising activity
in London.

The
comments come amid a broader regulatory effort to
revitalize the UK’s capital markets. The FCA is currently reviewing rules
on listings, secondary offerings, and public offer platforms, as part of a
post-Brexit strategy to make London more attractive to both issuers and
investors.

In recent
quarters and years, New
York has consistently outshined London in financial markets and potential IPOs.

Easing Access to Capital
and Broadening Market Participation

Among the
most notable proposals under review are changes to disclosure rules for
corporate bonds, particularly those with low denominations. The goal is to make
these securities more accessible to retail investors, who are currently
restricted by minimum thresholds.

“We are
proposing changes to our rules to align disclosure requirements for low
denomination bonds with those for higher denominations,” Holland said. “These
rules are designed to make it much easier for issuers to raise capital.”

The FCA is
also seeking feedback on streamlining reporting obligations , acknowledging that
regulatory complexity—especially across jurisdictions—can be a deterrent to
market engagement. “We know reporting is not just the filing of annual reports
and accounts,” he said. “It’s time consuming, complicated, and expensive.”

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Despite the
focus on deregulation, the FCA insists that safeguards will remain. Holland
underscored the need to maintain data collection on areas such as transaction
reporting and derivatives activity, noting, “Some reporting is crucial, and we
use it every day to help us achieve our objectives.”

Market
participants are being encouraged to contribute to upcoming consultation papers
that will shape these reforms. “We need to hear from you to help us make those
decisions,” Holland said. “Well-informed markets are good for everyone.”