Government outlines fintech steering body to push national sector strategy
The government has outlined plans for a Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) steering body today as it looks to push ahead with a national strategy for the fintech sector.
The establishment of CFIT, one of the key recommendations of the government-commissioned Kalifa Review of Fintech last year, and was described by Ron Kalifa as the “outstanding piece of the jigsaw” needed to deliver a national strategy for fintech.
In his Autumn budget last year, the chancellor unveiled a £5m funding package for CFIT but the industry has been waiting for further clarity since then.
Government has today announced that Kalifa will chair a new steering committee to take the body forward, with committee members including the bosses of start-up body TechNation, Gerard Grech, Innovate Finance chief executive Janine Hirt, and representatives from the Treasury, Fintech Wales and FIntech Scotland.
The announcement of Kalifa’s position comes as the fintech industry reviews the progress of the recommendations a year on at UK Fintech Week.
Morning Wire revealed today that he is also pushing ministers to speed up reform to the UK’s capital markets to encourage more firms to come to market in the UK.
In a letter to the Treasury in February, Kalifa outlined areas in the capital markets ecosystem that were hampering growth and hindering firms listing in London, including the landscape for investment research, the tax environment, the depth of investment managers in the UK and the remuneration of executives.