TheCityUK and PwC UK have published a report setting out the actions needed for the UK to lead in the next era of global finance. The report, ‘No time to lose: Reasserting UK leadership in financial and related professional services’, draws on engagement with over 300 senior leaders across industry, government, regulators and academia – and is  underpinned by new economic modelling and international benchmarking from PwC.

Those interviewed were clear: while the increased focus from government and regulators on growth is welcome, bolder ambition and faster, more decisive action to reform the financial system and reinforce the UK’s global reputation for legal certainty is needed. Without this, the UK risks ceding unrecoverable ground to competitor financial centres who are investing heavily in digital market infrastructure, accelerating regulatory and tax reform, and using targeted incentives to attract capital, talent and innovation.

The impact of moving slowly is already being felt. While insurance and professional services are outperforming, overall industry growth has flatlined over the past decade, with real growth averaging just 0.1% a year since 2014 and productivity falling sharply. New PwC economic modelling suggests that, on current trends, the industry could grow at only 0.5% a year in real terms through to 2035, steadily eroding the industry’s share of the UK economy and limiting its capacity to support households and businesses through lending, insurance and investment services.

But the upside from acting decisively is substantial, with PwC modelling showing that the UK could unlock over £53bn in additional annual economic output and £22bn in additional annual tax receipts by 2035 – c.£770 per household. The benefits would also be felt across the wider economy, with the UK having direct access to scarce global skills, specialist expertise and deep pools of capital to support national priorities such as infrastructure, defence, energy security and high-growth businesses.