30 YEARS
Since Teamspirit launched in 1995, the UK's financial services sector has been transformed. Not only are ways of working almost unrecognisable, accelerated by technology and changes in attitude, but the industry landscape has been shaped by headline-grabbing events, regulation, and product innovation.
Have we overlooked some? Undoubtedly. But the journey to today has been quite remarkable…
1995 - The collapse of Barings Bank
The merchant bank, which had been operating for more than 200 years, collapsed after 28-year-old trader, Nick Leeson, lost £2 billion in today’s money making unauthorised futures trades.
1995
1995 - Dot com bubble
A voracious investor appetite for all things internet created an investing bubble that lasted until the start of the Millennium. By the end of 2001, the majority of the stock had lost its value. It took 15 years for the Nasdaq to recover.
1997 - Bank of England independence
The new Labour Government handed independence to the Bank of England, with the aim of strengthening economic confidence. It meant that politics, for the most part, was decoupled from the UK’s monetary policy.
1997
1998 - 2 pound coin
The new bimetallic coin benefited from being easily distinguishable from other coins, harder to counterfeit, and recognisable by the blind because of the raised join between the two parts of the coin.
1998
1999 - Launch of the ISA
Replacing personal equity plans (PEPs) and tax-exempt special savings accounts (TESSAs), ISAs were a new, tax-efficient vehicle for people to save for their future.
1999
1999 - The Euro introduced
This was the biggest cash changeover in history. An ‘invisible’ currency for the first three years (used only for accounting purposes and electronic payments). In 2002 coins and banknotes were launched across 12 EU countries.
1999 - Millennium bug / Y2K
The Millennium Bug was the fear that some computer programs would find it difficult to distinguish between the years 1900 and 2000, causing planes to fall out of the sky, essential services to collapse, and other untold chaos. While there were some issues, the dawn of the new Millennium largely passed without issue. Though it was estimated that UK businesses alone spent c £3 billion on ‘solutions’.
2001 - Financial Services Compensation Scheme founded
A result of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the FSCS uses levies from authorised financial services firms to pay compensation to consumers. Crucially, it is independent of the Government and financial services industry.
2001
2002 - Child trust funds
A Child Trust Fund was a long-term tax-free savings account for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Up to £9,000 could be added annually. In 2011, the JISA was introduced as its replacement.
2002
2004 - Chip & pin introduced
Making payments more convenient as well as helping to reduce fraud, the Chip & Pin revolution saw chips embedded in retail banking cards. It became a required feature on all British payment cards from February 2006.
2004
2007 - Contactless payments
Barclays rolled out the first ‘contactless cards’, enabling users to pay without a PIN.
2007
2008 - The global financial crash
Originating in the United States, the world quickly felt the impact of the sub-prime housing collapse. Very quickly, the term ‘quantitative easing’ becomes part of the everyday lexicon.
2008
2009 - Bitcoin
The decentralised currency was introduced to the world, promising a new era of financial transactions, independent from banks, financial firms and governments.
2009
2012 - The Retail Distribution Review
RDR banned commission-based sales, raised adviser qualifications and clarified advice types. While it increased trust and advice quality, it was also blamed for a subsequent reduction in adviser numbers.
2012
2012 - Auto-enrolment
This meant that all employees over 22 would automatically see a small percentage of their wage paid into a pension scheme, with extra money added on top by their employer. Widely recognised as a success, since its introduction, participation in pension saving has vastly improved.
2014 - Pension freedoms
The Tory/Lib-Dem Coalition Government announced the plans to enable people to access their retirement savings more flexibly. Rather than forcing people to buy an annuity, the changes meant that those over 55 could withdraw 25% of their pension pot tax-free.
2014
2015 - Apple wallet
Building on the rise of contactless payments, the Apple Wallet took it a step further, enabling users to securely keep credit and debit cards for Apple Pay, as well as ID, travel cards, train and gig tickets, and much more.
2015
2016 - Brexit
After a contentious and divisive campaign, the UK voted to leave the EU by a margin of 51% to 49%. The decision and subsequent legislation saw the UK move further away from alignment with Europe, but granted greater flexibility to pursue initiatives with other markets.
2016
2016 - Solvency II
Solvency II introduced risk-based capital requirements, governance standards and reporting obligations, enhancing financial stability and consumer confidence. It was a direct response to the global financial crash of 2008.
2017 - New pound coin
The 12-sided, bimetallic coin was introduced primarily as an anti-counterfeit measure. Prior to its introduction, it was estimated that around one in 30 round £1 coins in circulation was a counterfeit.
2017
2017 - Open Banking
Open Banking allows consumers to share their financial data securely with third-party providers through APIs. Its aim is to increase competition, innovation and transparency in financial services.
2017 - LISA
The Lifetime ISA (LISA) was designed to help younger generations (those under 40) get on the property ladder, to save for their retirement, or even both. Savers are able to put aside £4k per year, which the Government will then top up by 25%.
2018 - MIFID II
MiFID II introduced stricter reporting requirements, limited dark pool trading and ensured fairer pricing. The legislation aimed to reduce conflicts of interest, increase accountability and promote a more efficient and transparent financial market.
2018
2018 - Gender pay gap reporting
The UK Government legislated that any employer with 250 or more employees on a specific date each year (the ‘snapshot date’) must report their gender pay gap data. The aim was to enable and encourage employers to actively identify and address any pay gaps and then take steps to close them through proactive measures.
2020 - Covid-19
The global shutdown plunged businesses and households into financial trouble, prompting governments across the world to provide unprecedented financial support.
2020
2021 - Meme stocks
Reddit users took on short-sellers with a co-ordinated campaign of stock purchasing. They drove up the low-value share price of GameStop, which counterintuitively cost prominent hedge funds billions of dollars.
2021
2022 - Polymer/ plastic notes introduced
The Bank of England introduced polymer bank notes, due their being stronger and more secure, and for notes to stay cleaner in circulation. The lifecycle of the notes is also much longer than paper-based notes.
2022
2022 - LDI crisis
On the back of the UK Government’s mini-budget, the interest rate on UK gilts rose by over 100 basis points in just four days. It forced pension funds to sell assets, including gilts, exacerbating the price decline and creating a vicious cycle. The debacle was a key factor in limiting Liz Truss’ premiership to just 49 days.
2023 - Consumer Duty
Consumer Duty sets high standards of consumer protection across financial services, and requires firms to put their customers’ needs first. It introduced a new Consumer Principle, which requires firms “to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers”.
2023
2024 - Open AI/ ChatGPT goes mainstream
The launch of OpenAI was a transformative leap for the mass adoption of artificial intelligence. While its long-term impact remains to be seen, its ability to increase efficiency almost instantaneously changed the day-to-day operations of businesses across the world. According to Statista, the market for artificial intelligence grew beyond US$184 billion in 2024.
2024