Tensions between Washington and the finance industry are on the rise, thanks to a sweeping Biden era crackdown aimed at reining in big banks, trading firms and crypto. A top U.K. official who made the rounds on Wall Street this week had a very different message: We want more risk-taking in London. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith told MM it’s about “rebalancing” the approach to policing finance after 15 years of regulatory tightening. “You saw perhaps somewhat of an overreaction,” he said. Griffith pointed to efforts to allow U.K. pensions to hold more illiquid assets and to smooth requirements around listed companies. Griffith cited a 30-year-old who would pay a performance penalty if his pension had to be invested in liquid assets like Gilts. “I’m always at pains to make clear it’s not at the extremities,” he said. “It’s not about taking risk for its own sake.” Griffith’s agenda in New York this week featured VC’s, tech firms, investors and banks, including an investor roundtable at Bloomberg headquarters and a meeting with Andreessen Horowitz. His pitch: The U.K. government has a vision for “an open, sustainable, technologically innovative and globally competitive financial services sector.” Part of being internationally competitive includes “improving the clock speed with which regulators take decisions,” he said. One clear area where the U.K. is starting to diverge with the U.S. is crypto. The Biden administration has responded with skepticism, and there is major disagreement in Congress about whether to give the industry legitimacy with its own rulebook. Across the Atlantic, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has embraced crypto, and the U.K. is moving ahead with plans to facilitate the use of stablecoins. The U.K., according to Griffith, “can be some sort of Goldilocks — not always the first mover, not as embracing of the technology as some, but also not putting it in the icebox.” It’s Thursday — MM would love to hear from you. Drop a line: zwarmbrodt@politico.com.
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