UK measures supporting financial services through COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Financial services firms in the UK benefit from a wide package of economic and regulatory measures to support them through the disruptions caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic. Measures benefitting the financial and professional services sector The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee has set the UK countercyclical capital buffer (CCyb) rate at 0%. This supports financial services firms' efforts to continue to provide financial services to the rest of the economy, including by providing credit. Regulators including the Bank of England and the FCA have alleviated operational burdens on financial services firms through: cancellation of stress-tests, delays to implementation of initiatives, consultations, non-critical requests and extensions to regulatory reporting. The Government’s £1.25bn Future Fund is a package of support measures for firms driving innovation in the UK – likely to be of particular benefit to firms in the UK’s fintech sector. The Term Funding Scheme with additional incentives for SMEs provides banks with four year funding at interest rates at or close to Bank Rate, helping to transmit low interest rates to the real economy via lending. The scheme offers additional funding for banks that increase lending to SMEs. There has been clear regulatory guidance issued for firms on expectations regarding their conduct and outcomes, including on operational resilience, meeting regulatory obligations, reporting, treating customers fairly, and remote working. Regulators support firms to work remotely and do not impose any requirements preventing staff working from home, or firms carrying out functions such as holding virtual general meetings or electronically signing documents. HMT and the BoE are working closely to support the orderly functioning of markets through the period of disruption from Covid-19, via a variety of measures. Financial services firms can of course also benefit from the Government’s wider package of economic measures, in place for businesses across all sectors. This includes Government backed loans through Coronavirus business interruption schemes for small, medium sized and large firms; the jobs retention scheme; the Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility; deferrals of VAT payments; business rates relief, and other measures. More information on these Government support packages can be found on the Government's website.