MNI BRIEF: Regulatory Override Power Would Hurt UK - BOE Woods

If the government adopts powers allowing it to intervene and override financial regulation in order to try and boost growth, this would end up harming, not helping, the UK, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said Friday. Speaking at the Mansion House, Woods said ministers have indicated that the Financial Services and Markets Bill going through parliament may be amended to introduce an ‘intervention power,’ allowing the government to step in when it sees regulation hampering economic growth.

"Some might think that such a power would boost competitiveness. My view is that through time it would do precisely the opposite, by undermining our international credibility and creating a system in which financial regulation blew much more with the political wind – weaker regulation under some governments, harsher regulation under others," Woods said.

He was also scornful of the idea of turning the UK into an offshore financial centre, noting that such places tended to be small whereas the UK is already a global financial centre.