Setting the Multi-Level Context
This chapter provides the context for the rest of the book. It first outlines the configuration of the financial system in the UK, and the structural and instrumental power of the financial industry. It then discusses the distinctive institutional structures centered around the City–Bank–Treasury ‘nexus’ prior to the crisis and evaluates how the role and influence of the financial industry has been challenged by institutional reforms following the financial crisis, and more recently by Brexit. The second part of the chapter outlines the international and EU institutional context through which non-binding international standards, and ‘hard’ EU legislation, is developed. Following the crisis, the UK played a leading role in shaping the post-crisis financial regulatory response at both levels. However, the strategies of UK negotiators at the international and EU levels were often differentiated, and the ability of UK negotiators to influence the final outcome was mixed.