UK may need to replicate Singapore’s regulatory approach

If the London Market is to enjoy overseas growth post-Brexit, its regulator will need to adopt a new approach, Peter Allen, partner in the insurance division at accountancy and consultancy firm Moore Stephens, told SIRC Today.

Allen recently returned to the London Market after spending some years in Singapore. “What strikes me, having recently returned to London, is that the relationship between the regulator and the industry is not as strong as that enjoyed in Singapore,” he said.

He believes this comes down to the role that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has been asked to play by the Singaporean government and its links with the country’s economic development.

“The MAS has been asked to grow the financial services market in Singapore and as such the relationship between the industry and the regulators is more collaborative,” he said.

“Certainly if we were taking a client, looking to form an operation, through the MAS regulatory process, the Economic Development Board would be taking a very close interest in what was going on.”

By contrast, Allen suggests, in the UK the relationship remains more adversarial, and that future UK governments will have to understand that the regulators will need to adopt a more friendly approach to investors and investment.

He concluded: “It may well be a difficult transition given that the regulator and government will almost certainly look to the way it had to step in to rescue some financial services firms during the financial crisis.

“While there is little doubt that the regulator will continue to ensure that customer protection will be paramount the regulators will need to change its approach given the greater offshore feel that London will generate post-Brexit.

“Indeed, London will no doubt have to look to Singapore and the model that it has adopted since independence 50 years ago.”

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