City Shake-Up Bill to Be Included in King’s Speech, FT Reports

The UK government will introduce a major financial services reform bill in the King’s Speech on May 13, the Financial Times reported, citing officials briefed on the measure.

The legislation will overhaul regulation for the City of London, including merging the payments watchdog into the FCA, reforming the financial ombudsman, and easing rules for senior staff, according to the newspaper. The bill is expected to allow for the scrapping of the much-criticized certification regime that makes mandatory for financial services companies to conduct annual checks that its senior employees are fit and proper, the FT said.