Peter Sissons, Head of International Affairs, City of London Corp, which commissioned a report on perceptions in India on the international regulations by the US, and EU, governing banking and financial sectors, spoke to BusinessLine regarding the findings of the study. Excerpts:
The City of London Corporation is an unlikely organisation to conduct such a research. What is the background?
The Indian market is of great importance to financial services firms in the UK, and that is reflected in the City of London Corporation, which has an office in Mumbai and a Senior Advisory Council.
We have had a lot of discussions in Europe and beyond, about regulatory reform and the way that it is developing around the world.
We have the sense that there is a common perception, that the extraterritorial reach of policies is increasing across the world – it’s a theme we are often asked about.
We wanted to get practitioners’ views of what that impact is – the perception of change, not the actual impact.
Why focus on perception?
The regulatory landscape is moving fast – regulations are constantly changing or being amended.
We wanted to get the insight from very senior practitioners – when we talk to financial centres across the world, perception of the business environment is always a key question.
It can be a more top level way of looking at the issue.
What do you hope the research will achieve?
With a lot of our thought leadership projects, the aim is to stimulate debate and air the issues in more detail. Our Chairman (Mark Boleat) will be travelling to India next month and meeting key people, and one of the issues he will be discussing is this.
Do you think regulators are aware of concerns about the extraterritorial impact?
I think global regulators know what these issues are. They faced a tough challenge after the financial crisis, and measures were put in place in the aftermath. We have moved on from the crisis and the question is whether regulatory policy is managing risks, and allowing for growth.
What are your priorities towards India?
We have a number of work streams including the development of the Indian credit market, and we are looking at the internationalisation of the rupee; we are also looking at the insurance and reinsurance markets, and financial sector skills – how education and training in the UK can help India grow its skills base.