Concerns: Bim Afolami said the UK’s financial services industry’s ‘animal spirits’ must be unleashed
The new City minister has fired a warning shot at regulators to loosen their grip on the UK’s financial services sector, saying there was ‘no point having the safest graveyard’.
Two weeks after he was promoted by Rishi Sunak, Bim Afolami said the industry’s ‘animal spirits’ must be unleashed at a time when some fear that subdued risk appetite is holding back growth.
He delivered the broadside at the FT’s global banking summit, where uncertainty facing the sector in the UK emerged as a key theme.
His comments signalled a willingness to take on the likes of the Financial Conduct Authority in pursuit of growth.
He added: ‘Regulators need to realise if you’re regulating a market in any area there’s no point having the safest graveyard. Animal spirits need to be there, we need to drive growth and initiative.’
