Like football, financial services is truly global
THE ENGLISH team may be out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but there is no question that, when it comes to finance, we are in the premier league.
However we cannot ignore the fact that our rapidly developing counterparts are becoming more important on the global stage and challenging Europe’s competitiveness.
That is why I welcomed the recent comments from Foreign Secretary William Hague calling for the UK to build stronger, more proactive links in the European Union when it comes to the policy-making agenda.
In this light, I am travelling to Brussels this week to meet Michel Barnier, the EU’s Internal Markets Commissioner.
We will discuss changes to the regulatory landscape and their impact on the UK financial services industry, which is particularly important at present given the EU’s recent announcement on banking pay.
These new rules – combined with the Alternative Investment Funds Managers directive – could potentially have a great impact on hedge funds and asset managers despite their limited role in the global financial crisis. After all, London is home to 80 per cent of the EU’s hedge fund industry.
That is why it is imperative that legislators remember we operate in a global marketplace, and that any changes to our regulatory structure need to be coordinated with other G20 markets that the City is directly competing with.
Outside the EU it is important – as the Foreign Secretary noted – that we build closer ties with increasingly important economic powers such as China, India, Brazil and Russia. We must also not ignore lesser-mentioned, but important, markets for future growth such as Mexico.
In October this year I will visiting key industry figures in Mexico City, while this week Mansion House is hosting a conference designed to build ties with senior representatives from the Mexican government and business community.
Mexico is already the UK’s second biggest trading nation in Latin America after Brazil, with our bilateral relationship worth over £2bn a year. And the Mexican economy – like the country’s football team – is on an upward curve, with some analysts suggesting that it will rise from its current standing as the 11th largest in the world to 5th largest by 2040.
This World Cup has shown that some of the most talented players are from far flung corners of the globe, and a similar story holds true in today’s financial services industry.
Nick Anstee is Lord Mayor of the City of London