Chancellor Rallies Retail Banks Behind Her Economic Plan
Summary
Chancellor Rachel Reeves met on 22 April 2026 with CEOs of Barclays UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander UK, NatWest Group, Nationwide Building Society, and HSBC UK to discuss the government's economic plan. The meeting, held during Fintech Week 2026, addressed global uncertainty following the Middle East conflict and highlighted the financial services sector's role in managing risk and supporting households. Ministers also discussed the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, including Targeted Support for retail investment, skills reforms, and major pensions reform via the Pensions Bill.
“Against heightened global uncertainty following the conflict in the Middle East, the Chancellor underlined that economic stability is the government's first priority.”
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GovPing monitors UK HMRC News Stories for new tax regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 3 changes logged to date.
What changed
Chancellor Rachel Reeves brought together six major UK retail bank CEOs on 22 April 2026 to discuss her economic plan amid heightened global uncertainty. The meeting, coinciding with Fintech Week 2026, focused on the financial services sector's role in strengthening UK resilience, reducing costs for households and businesses, and supporting the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.
Affected financial institutions should note that the Treasury, FCA, and PRA are working together on reforms to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, with a stated goal of reducing regulatory burdens by half. The Economic Secretary also announced a new Wholesale Digital Markets Champion to drive tokenisation in financial markets and measures to modernise payments services regulation.
Archived snapshot
Apr 22, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Press release
Chancellor rallies retail banks behind her economic plan
Rachel Reeves today brought together the CEOs of Barclays UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander UK, NatWest Group, Nationwide Building Society and HSBC UK.
From: HM Treasury, Lucy Rigby KC MP and The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP Published 22 April 2026
Against heightened global uncertainty following the conflict in the Middle East, the Chancellor underlined that economic stability is the government’s first priority.
She set out how her economic plan is strengthening the UK’s resilience and keeping costs down for households and businesses - and that the financial services sector has a central role to play in managing risk, backing consumer confidence and supporting households.
The Chancellor and the Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby highlighted progress on delivering the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, including the launch of Targeted Support to boost retail investment, commissioning the Financial Services Skills Commission to produce a report on disruptive technologies and skills needs and launch a financial services Skills Compact, and major pensions reform through the Pensions Bill.
The meeting took place during Fintech Week 2026, with ministers making the case for Britain as a leading fintech hub. Yesterday, the Economic Secretary announced the appointment of new Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, Chris Woolard CBE, to drive tokenisation in financial markets, and a new package of measures to boost Britain’s competitive edge and modernise payments services regulation.
In a major upgrade to the UK’s framework for individual accountability in financial services, today also sees changes to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, as the Treasury published its response to the consultation on reforms. Alongside this, the FCA and PRA have also published their policy statements reflecting changes to their SM&CR rules and guidance (FCA Statement; PRA Statement). Working together, the government and regulators are working to reduce regulatory burdens by half, to help simplify the regime and help firms navigate the regime more efficiently.
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