UK Banks call on the government to cut regulatory costs
According to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry, the financial industry's top answer as to how the government can help the financial sector support economic growth is to cut the cost of complying with new regulations. UK banks have said that they expect to be spending more money complying with rules in the coming months, and the new regulations were putting brakes on business expansion.  This follows today's latest ranking of the top 1,000 banks showing UK banks continuing to lose their global position.  With the Chancellor's budge looming, the banks are lobbying hard for an end to criticism of the sector and hope that George Osborne will take note of their arguments, including a review by the government of the new ring-fencing rule.
The Banker’s top 1,000 world banks 2015: UK lenders slide down rankings as Chinese institutions move up

UK banks continue to lose their global position as Chinese banks power ahead, according to The Banker’s latest ranking of the Top 1,000 banks

HSBC fell from fifth place to ninth, Barclays from 12th to 13th and Royal Bank of Scotland from 15th to 18th as they restructured and slimmed down in the wake of the financial crisis.

The ranking is based on capital strength.

Meanwhile, Chinese banks continued to improve their position, taking up three of the top five spots. ICBC topped the ranking for the third year in a row, while China Construction Bank stayed in second place and Bank of China moved from seventh to fourth.

Brian Caplen, The Banker’s editor, said that since the financial crisis, UK banks have “reduced their scope and are focussing on a fewer areas in a bid to restore profitability”.

“We may have seen the end of the UK-based global bank,” he added.