Chair of London Stock Exchange warns City could lose status as global financial hub

The Chair of the London Stock Exchange (GB:LSEG) has warned that London could lose its status as a global financial hub and urged rapid reforms to loosen red tape around stock listings. 

In a submission to the Financial Conduct Authority, Michael Findlay wrote that  that without “essential modernisation”, London’s status risks diminishing to “that of a regional exchange” and called for rules to be watered down to allow London to compete with exchanges such as New York, Shanghai and Tokyo. 

Findlay called for loosening of rules around IPOs and other regulations. 

London Stock Exchange ‘in race with rivals’

Findlay wrote, “We are in a foot race with our competitors, and we cannot afford to be ignorant of that or complacent about what we need to do if we want to stay relevant.

“It means that we as a jurisdiction cannot and should not continue to assume that the ‘gold plating’ that we currently have in place in regulatory terms is necessarily fit for purpose for our markets if we want to keep them relevant in the coming years.

“It was relevant in the past couple of decades, but it is unlikely to be in the coming two decades unless we are satisfied with slipping gently into being a relatively mid-market, regional capital market.”

What is the London Stock Exchange called?

The London Stock Exchange is known as LSE, and is a profitable company: adjusted profit for the first half of 2022 increased by 21.9% to £1.06 billion.

Findlay called for “radical reforms”, saying that Britain has a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” post-Brexit. 

This week Britain’s Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is travelling to the U.S. to visit the New York Stock Exchange, meeting with senior global bank representatives to set “the highest possible standard for global financial services co-operation between the two nations.”