A coalition which includes some of Britain’s best-known banks is demanding representation in a Labour Party financial services policy review which is dominated by the bosses of FTSE 100 companies.
Sky News has seen a letter to Tulip Siddiq, the shadow City minister, from the chief executives of lenders including the Co-operative Bank, Metro Bank, Starling Bank and Tesco Bank in which they urge her to canvass a “genuinely diverse set of views from the sector [to] inform your review”.
In the letter, sent on Monday, the bank chiefs told Ms Siddiq that “while the UK is a great place to start a bank, sadly this is still not yet the case when it comes to scaling – illustrated by the numbers of new banking licences granted in recent years versus the continued dominance of the ‘Big Five'”.
Also signed by the bosses of Aldermore, Close Brothers, Investec, Monzo, OakNorth, OneSavings Bank, Paragon and Shawbrook, the letter reflected frustration among the mid-tier banks that their segment of the market was excluded from a review panel announced by Ms Siddiq last week.
The City figures advising Labour include Sir Douglas Flint, the chairman of Abrdn; Nigel Higgins, the Barclays chairman; and David Schwimmer, CEO of London Stock Exchange Group.
One person close to Labour pointed out that Susan Allen, chief executive of the Yorkshire Building Society, was among the panel members.
In their letter to Ms Siddiq, the bank chiefs said that a strong mid-tier and specialist banking sector was “critical to the future growth and prosperity of the UK economy”.
It employs 35,000 people and accounts for total assets of approximately £300bn, they added.
“We are more focused in regional geographies and have deeper roots in the communities we serve, operating in markets often poorly served by the large mainstream providers that are well-represented on your panel.”
None of the banks contacted by Sky News would comment on the letter.
