Liz Truss would scrap reforms meant to avoid another 2007-style financial crisis by merging three of the UK's top financial regulators if she becomes the UK's next prime minister, according to reports.
The frontrunner in the Conservative leadership race is said to be preparing for a review of the financial regulators' responsibilities if she succeeds in beating rival Rishi Sunak, the Financial Times said, citing campaign insiders.
That could mean merging the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - which is broadly in charge of overseeing company behaviour and protecting consumers' financial interests - with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which is part of the Bank of England and responsible for making sure banks and insurers are financially stable and are not putting the wider economy at risk.
The report suggests the merger would also include the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which oversees the networks that facilitate money transfers, contactless payments and cash machines across the UK.
The move would mean integrating the City watchdogs less than a decade after they were formed in 2013 as part of a post-financial crisis overhaul originally put forward by the then chancellor George Osborne in 2010.
The PRA and FCA were created by splitting the now-defunct Financial Services Authority, which was criticised for failing to properly supervise banks in the lead-up to the previous financial crisis, and prevent scandals including the mis-selling of payment protection insurance.
Any plans to reintegrate the lenders is likely to raise eyebrows, just as the UK steels itself for another economic downturn sparked by surging inflation. The decision could also face criticism if it results in job and cost cuts that risk further neutering the UK regulators. The PRA has about 1,350 staff, while the PSR operated with about 130 employees. The FCA is the largest of the three with approximately 4,000 employees.
The FCA - headed by chief executive Nikhil Rathi and previously led by Andrew Bailey, who is now Bank of England governor - is already facing criticism over poor resourcing and its failure to protect consumers who were caught up in more recent scandals including the collapse of Neil Woodford's investment fund and the minibond firm London Capital & Finance.
The FCA's 4,000 staff are in charge of supervising the conduct of about 60,000 financial firms. The regulator faced its first staff strike in May after a dispute over pay and working conditions.
The Bank of England and PSR declined to comment on reports of a potential merger, while the FCA said it was unable to comment.