Supporting growth

We set out our outcomes and metrics for this theme below.

What the latest metric values tell us

Overall progress against outcomes in year 1

Movements in the data are broadly in line with expectations of moderate improvement. Most outcome metrics are above baseline, one remains stable and one has declined. In a challenging economic and increasingly competitive global environment, this indicates early positive progress. However, some metrics reflect wider market and international factors, and time is needed to see sustained change against our strategic ambitions. 

What’s changed and why this matters

Increased competitiveness of the UK financial services industry

London remained the world’s second‑ranked global financial centre, narrowing the gap with New York to a minimal difference. London remains one of only 2 full service financial markets, with a broad and deep market serving a wide range of investors. This shows its international position is resilient, despite increasing competition. 

Edinburgh rose from 29th to 28th place year-on-year. 

International competitiveness reflects the UK’s ability to attract investment, talent and financial services activity. 

London fell 3 places to fifth in the fintech financial centre ranking. This reflects stronger performance from Asian financial centres and ranking changes affecting other established centres, including New York. Global fintech competition is increasing, including in areas such as digital finance and cryptoassets. Asian financial centres continue to gain market share. This may pose a risk to our strategic ambition. We will continue to monitor this to sustain and strengthen the UK’s global position.

A more productive and innovative financial services industry

More firms are using our innovation and tailored authorisation services. Volumes for innovation services (Innovation Pathway, Digital Sandbox and Regulatory Sandbox) increased by 156 (89%). Use of pre-application support services (PASS) increased by 222 (258%) following expanded capacity to meet increased demand. This suggests stronger demand from firms seeking to enter or expand in the market. Over time, this should support greater innovation and productivity in the financial services sector.

Contributing to growth in the wider economy

Financial services exports increased 10% in nominal terms and 6% in real terms. This increased the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and UK growth. The UK remained the world's largest net exporter of financial services, underlining its continued importance to the economy.

Access to capital remained positive in 2025. UK businesses raised a net £4.4bn of finance. This indicates continued availability of funding from banks, building societies and capital markets to support investment and economic growth. Although lower than in 2024, this does not indicate reduced access to capital. It reflects a smaller increase following higher growth in the previous year. 

Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty may have reduced borrowing demand. Firms appear to be favouring shorter‑term, and more flexible options, such as bank lending, rather than bond issuance. This reflects higher interest rates and elevated bond yields. The continued net increase shows firms still have access to a range of financing options to support investment and growth. 

Insights on factors influencing the data

Increased competitiveness of the UK financial services industry

Maintain UK’s position as a global financial and fintech centre 

To support UK firms and start‑ups and remain competitive, we continued to expand our innovation services. This included the launch of the AI‑powered Supercharged Sandbox with NVIDIA, alongside existing services such as the Digital Securities Sandbox, Regulatory and Innovation Pathway sandboxes, Smart Data Accelerator, and AI live testing. 

These services aim to make it easier for firms to invest, innovate and raise capital, while maintaining appropriate regulatory standards. Our international work, including the Berne Financial Services Agreement and collaboration with the Office for Investment: Financial Services[2], supports the UK’s openness to trade and investment. Together, these actions help strengthen the UK’s position as a leading global financial and fintech centre.

Competitors in Asia, among the top 5 financial and fintech centres, are making significant strategic investments to strengthen their global positions. Shenzhen, now ranked second in the fintech index, has developed as a major centre within the Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou innovation cluster. The scale and integration of these ecosystems position them as strong competitors to established centres such as London and New York.

A more productive and innovative financial services industry

More firms use our innovation and tailored authorisation services

We improved the speed and predictability of authorisations, providing earlier and clearer decisions without lowering standards. We introduced new targets, and more firms were informed we were ‘minded to approve’ their application, giving earlier certainty to enter or expand. 

We strengthened support for growing firms by establishing a joint FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) scale‑up unit. We increased early and high growth oversight capacity by 50%, and expanded pre‑application support across wholesale, payments and cryptoasset firms. We also extended support to consumer investments, solo-regulated insurance and targeted support sectors.

Improvements in productivity and innovation will take longer to emerge. At this stage, the data reflects increased use of regulatory support rather than clear outcome impact.

Contributing to growth in the wider economy

Increase financial services exports

Financial services exports increased as of April 2026, driven by strong performance in insurance, including marine, aviation and transport, and banking. The UK remains the world’s largest cross-border banking centre, leading in international bank lending and global foreign exchange turnover, with these structural strengths supporting performance. 

Our regulatory initiatives helped strengthen the UK’s position as a competitive global financial services hub. This includes expanding our international presence and strengthening strategic partnerships. Initiatives such as the Berne Financial Services Agreement, simplified insurance rules and our presence in the US, Asia‑Pacific and Singapore are improving market access for UK firms and supporting inward investment. 

We continue to work closely with industry and government. This includes partnerships such as our work on AI with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and support for the Office for Investment: Financial Services helps position the UK as a leading centre for innovation and global capital flows.

Increase in access to capital

Gross lending to small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) remained strong. Challenger and specialist banks provided around 60% of lending. Demand for debt financing in capital markets remained high, alongside periods of net repayment and ongoing balance sheet and capital management. 

We made it easier for companies to raise capital through prospectus reforms and a new public offer platform. This reduced friction in access to funding and broadened investor opportunities. We expanded access to private markets through the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES). We approved 4 operators and have 2 more in the pipeline, supporting growing companies.

Further changes, including listing rule reforms, improved bond market access and greater derivatives transparency, support faster capital raising and increase investor opportunities. 

View all FCA outcomes and metrics 2025 to 2030[4]