British American Finance Alliance launches with 'united vision' for regulation

The UK and US financial services industries have joined forces as the British American Finance Alliance (BAFA) to help forge closer regulatory cooperation between the two financial centers.

BAFA, a coalition of 20 trade associations and industry bodies, aims to propose a "united business vision" for forward-looking US-UK regulatory cooperation in the financial sector.

The industry coalition seeks to build on the success of the UK/US Financial Regulatory Working Group (FRWG), announced by HM Treasury (HMT) and the US Department of the Treasury (UST) in April 2018. It is relaunching this group as BAFA.

BAFA believes the initiative will enhance regulatory dialogue, and in turn reduce cross-border frictions between the UK and US. It will also bolster cross-border investment, and support stronger economic growth and job creation for both countries.

“This is an important strategic opportunity for the US financial services industry to strengthen cross-border regulatory and supervisory cooperation between the United Kingdom and United States,” said Kenneth Bentsen, Jr., president and CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). “We look forward to working with policymakers and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic on this moving forward.”

Catherine McGuinness, deputy chair of TheCityUK, and chair of Policy and Resources Committee for the City of London Corporation, added: “In today’s economy, many barriers preventing cross-border trade and investment in financial and professional services are regulatory in nature.

"For our industry, achieving compatibility of regulatory standards is therefore essential to support growth on both sides of the Atlantic. A robust regulatory dialogue will help achieve this. It also presents an opportunity for the UK and the U.S. to work even more closely together in international regulatory forums to achieve shared priorities.”