FCA and Bank of England’s PRA join retreat from efforts to help underrepresented groups, citing ‘regulatory burdens’

• Peers working for City firms dominate Lords scrutiny panel
• FCA scraps plan to ‘name and shame’ UK firms under investigation
• Business live – latest updates

The City’s top two regulators have said they will not bring in new diversity and inclusion rules for financial firms because they want to avoid imposing extra “regulatory burdens” and costs, in the latest sign of a retreat from efforts to help underrepresented groups.

The Bank of England’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said they would instead support “voluntary industry initiatives” aimed at boosting diversity and inclusion in the financial sector.