The UK could allow easier market access for specialist trading houses that don’t hold retail deposits, the head of the Financial Conduct Authority will say on Tuesday.
The regulator is exploring adjustments that could encourage wholesale trading and boost liquidity, according to pre-released remarks from Nikhil Rathi’s speech at the FCA’s international markets conference in London.
“The goal of regulation shouldn’t just be to step in when things go wrong, or respond to a crisis,” Rathi will say. “We want to deliberately create an environment that helps firms compete and grow.”
Rathi will confirm the FCA intends to let companies that are already listed raise a further 75% of their share capital without filing paperwork known as a prospectus. The watchdog also wants to make it easier for firms raising money to give forward-looking information to potential investors.
These comments echo proposals set out in July, which the FCA hopes will deliver a long-awaited boost to activity on the London stock markets.
London’s reputation as a listing destination has suffered as several firms — including CRH, Flutter Entertainment and Arm Holdings — opted for New York, which offers a deeper pool of investors.
