UK: Research centre for world's top financial district

The City of London, home to the world's leading financial institutions, will soon be housing an International Centre for Financial Regulation (IFCR). Kitty Ussher, Economic Secretary and City Minister within the UK government, announced last month that the independent, industry-led centre would open later in the year. Barbara Ridpath, Executive Managing Director of global financial ratings agency Standard & Poor's, will be its chief executive officer.

The ICFR will carry out and sponsor training and research into cutting-edge regulatory issues; support the development of new regulatory approaches and international standards; and organise debates on the key regulatory issues facing industry practitioners and national regulators alike.

Around 20 financial services firms and the City of London Corporation raised more than £5 million ($10 million) to establish the centre and the UK government's Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has added £2.5 million.

Bill Rammell, Minister for Further and Higher Education, said: "I am delighted that DIUS is supporting this important project. Recent turbulence in global financial markets has only emphasised the valuable contribution that an independent centre for world-class regulatory research and training can make to the regulators and practitioners across the world and how important these financial skills are for the future of the UK economy."

The idea for the centre was proposed in a report commissioned last year by a former economic secretary who asked Lord Currie to produce a prospectus for a new world-class centre of financial regulatory expertise. Its development has since been led by an interim committee chaired by Standard Chartered Bank chairman Mervyn Davies.

The prospectus stressed the potential global impact of the centre, saying: "The ICFR will be international in reach, with important sponsors and partners located across the globe. So, although headquartered in the City of London, its research, training, conference and seminar activities will be distributed internationally. There is good evidence that such international cooperation will be forthcoming, including funding."


Furthermore its aim will be to encourage collaboration in financial research between senior academics worldwide and financial sector professionals with hands-on experience in global money markets.

"The ICFR will connect the best academics and practitioners both within the UK and overseas; it will be structured to welcome and encourage the involvement of the public and private sector, trade associations and academic institutions," the prospectus said. "By doing so, the ICFR will ensure a coordinated and cohesive approach to innovation and the identity of cutting edge best practice regulatory approaches and to educational provision in this area."
The UK government and its financial sector have reconfirmed their provision of start-up funding for the ICFR and have all agreed to provide £100,000 per year for three years, with a further £100,000 per year provided by another consortium. The City of London Corporation - the financial district's local government - has also pledged £1 million to the ICFR.
It is planned that the centre will become self-funding after the initial set-up phase, which will be guided by Ridpath. She will become its CEO in September and will organise a launch by the end of the year.
diane.spencer@uw-news.com