TheCityUK visits region’s financial services community
A DIRECTOR of a new body which aims to promote the UK financial services industry visited Yorkshire yesterday to explain the objectives of the organisation and speak to regional business leaders.
TheCityUK has been established following the publication of two reports into the financial services industry compiled by Bob Wigley and Sir Win Bischoff in the last two years.
Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com, John Ingamells, director of TheCityUK, said the body would focus on three key areas: overseas competition, regulatory issues and the domestic agenda.
Mr Ingamells made assurances that TheCityUK would not be taking over from bodies such as financial services body Financial Leeds but would work with them to promote the sector.
Mr Ingamells, who attended several events yesterday in the region, including one at law firm DWF, said: “We want to get people to understand the broader financial services issues.
“Everyone we’ve spoken to is fully behind TheCityUK. However, in the last ywo years we’ve all been in the something has to be done phase. We’re now saying how are we going to do it.”
Mr Ingamells said TheCityUK, which is nearing an official launch and is seeking members, signalled a “step change” in the way different bodies involved in promoting the interests of the financial services industry would work together.
He said TheCityUK’s key objectives included acting as a source of information and advice and a primary point of contact for overseas businesses and government delegations, encouraging greater understanding of the UK financial services industry’s role in society and its contribution to the economy and to work with government and regulatory developments to foster free and open markets for the financial services industry.
Mr Ingamells, a Leeds United fan, said TheCityUK was looking at ways to engage with the public and make it clearer the vital role the financial services sector, which employs around 1m people in the UK, plays in everyday life.
But he said the sector had work to do to improve its image following the recession.
“One of the reasons I’ve also been in Yorkshire is to make sure that we do talk to people and make sure the industry is represented at national level and that we’re properly coordinated,” he added.
The CityUK is a permanent body that is politically neutral and not-for-profit. It is presently establishing a number of advisory groups and committees and is open to both the financial and professional services sectors.
