Financial services hotspot booming, says minister

ECONOMIC Secretary to the Treasury Harriett Baldwin has hailed the success of the financial services in the North West.

She was speaking at the launch of the Financial Centres of Excellence initiative at the offices of BNY Mellon on Hardman Street, Manchester.

“Banks are increasingly choosing to make their homes here in Manchester,” she said.

“The Cooperative Bank has its headquarters here. Barclays has more than 4,000 staff here, forming an essential part of their operations – whether they are supporting the bank’s infrastructure, working on product development or looking at big data opportunities.

“There is also cutting-edge work in financial technology here.”

She said that beyond Manchester, Liverpool has an experienced wealth, asset and fund management industry.
 
“Chester is also a top city for financial and professional services – including for example the 2,000 people employed by Bank of America Merryl Lynch,” she said.

The region’s success, said Baldwin, is being helped by its excellent  transport links –  Manchester airport, for example, has seen rapid growth in direct long haul flights in recent years including the first direct route to China set to start soon.

She also pointed out the region was within a two-hour rail commute from London and also Birmingham Airport, giving easy access to the UK’s largest international airports at Heathrow and Gatwick.

“The North West is proving itself on the world stage as a great place to set up shop,” she said.

“And it’s easy to see why. Costs for businesses operating in the North West region are typically 30 to 40% lower than London, yet the region still provides the established business communities, infrastructure and quality of life that firms require to thrive.
 
“Furthermore, it’s a region that can offer the talent and skills companies need. It’s not surprising. The North West boasts 14 universities and gives us around 50,000 graduates a year – two thirds of whom choose to stay in the region after university.
 
“So it is little wonder that the region’s financial services sector now has more than 5,000 firms, is worth over £8bn and already employs almost 100,000 people and counting – with Manchester alone set to create over 60,000 more jobs in the industry over the next decade.”

Baldwin said she wanted the region to go even further with the launch of the North West Financial Centre of Excellence, the fourth in a series of eight UK regions, “pulling out stops to convince companies across the world they are the place to do business”.

 

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