Grants / Projects we are funding

The Financial Inclusion Centre – The devil is in the policy detail

Grant details

Amount:16,000

Awarded on:01/07/2021

Duration:6 months

Status:Live

Area of interest

Systems change

Themes covered

Policy-making

In 2020 Friends Provident Foundation supported the Financial Inclusion Centre to conduct research into sustainable socially responsible and impact (SRI) finance regulation in the UK. The end report highlighted a number of possible policy actions. This follow on project will explore some of those policy options in more depth.

This project builds on the Time for Action report which concluded there has been progress on sustainable, socially responsible, and impact (SRI) finance regulation in the UK, particularly on transparency and disclosure.

But, the report also concluded that further regulatory reform is needed to achieve the necessary system change and made a series of high level policy recommendations.

This project will now assess whether the specific policy tools being considered by the Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority, Financial Conduct Authority, and Financial Reporting Council are likely to result in the desired behavioural change in the market. In other words, ‘The Devil is in the policy detail’.

The project will also consider the risk of the UK diverging from EU standards post Brexit, and the state of play on international standards.

What will the project try to achieve?

The project will:
• try to provide an objective assessment of whether key UK policy tools intended to achieve system change are fit-for-purpose;
• help raise awareness of the potential impact of these policy tools amongst civil society organisations and other stakeholders campaigning in the field; and
• use the findings to advocate for reform including respond to further consultations from BoE, PRA, FCA, and FRC.

Who might be interested in this project?
Stakeholders interested in climate change and particularly the impact of the financial system on efforts to create a sustainable economy; the financial sector; and regulators.