Region positioned as financial centre of excellence

THE region is to be positioned as  a Financial Centre of Excellence, to attract more international investment to the region.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriet Baldwin, will be at the launch event tomorrow (28th April) to be held at the offices of BNY Mellon at 3 Hardman Street in Manchester.

UK Trade & Investment’s Financial Centres of Excellence initiative aims to promote cities and regions outside the City of London to international investors.
The programme will also encourage financial services companies in the City of London to consider moving back-office functions to the North West instead of moving them abroad.

Chris Cummings, chief executive of membership body TheCityUK, which lobbys for financial and related professional services, said: “Financial and related professional services bring great benefits to regional economies and the North West is home to one of the largest clusters of financial, accounting, legal and management consulting firms outside of London and the South East.

“With around 233,000 people currently employed in the industry across the region, and the Government committed to developing a Northern Powerhouse, we expect to see further job growth over the coming year, deepening the talent pool of skilled workers and creating an even stronger hub.”

Matt Wells, Manchester site executive for BNY Mellon said: “The North West is undeniably a driving force for the financial services sector outside of London and the South East.  Manchester, in particular, is thriving with over 100 banks and institutions based in the city.  

“Companies like ours are attracted to Manchester’s burgeoning talented and entrepreneurially minded workforce, who have the right mix of digital and financial services knowledge.

“Merseyside also plays an important role in the region and one of our subsidiaries, Pershing, has an office in Liverpool.  We employ over 1,500 people across the region and it is our hope, as we continue to partner Local Government Pension Schemes in addressing their investment and administration needs, that we are able to create further employment opportunities here.  The North West has a rich heritage in financial services.  We believe it has a rich future.”

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