{"id":70112,"date":"2016-04-29T16:41:11","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T16:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=bb86f2882ae58f708e64a7c27d8efa61"},"modified":"2016-04-29T16:41:11","modified_gmt":"2016-04-29T16:41:11","slug":"speech-new-financial-centres-of-excellence-will-build-on-the-north-wests-success-says-harriett-baldwin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=70112","title":{"rendered":"Speech: &quot;New financial centres of excellence&#8230;will build on the North West\u2019s success,&quot; says Harriett Baldwin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>For those of you who don\u2019t know me, I\u2019m the Economic Secretary to the Treasury \u2013 often known as \u2018The City Minister\u2019. My job is to make sure the UK remains a world leader when it comes to Financial Services. <\/p>\n<p>But I want to make it absolutely clear from the start: my job is certainly not just about the City of London.<\/p>\n<p>One of the things I\u2019m always keen to point out is that the UK has a lot more than a square mile to offer the world of finance. <\/p>\n<p>And in fact out of over 2 million people who work across the UK in financial and related services, around two-thirds of them are employed outside London. <\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s a real pleasure to be here in Manchester today and I want to thank Matt [Wells \u2013 Site Exec BNY Mellon] and our hosts at BNY Mellon. <\/p>\n<p>BNY Mellon is clearly a global company which knows full well just how much the UK has to offer \u2013 with offices across the country \u2013 from London to Poole, from Leeds to here in Manchester. <\/p>\n<p>Because this is a country which has considerable strengths:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>we have a global location that allows firms to do business with Asia in the morning and the Americans in the afternoon<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>we have a robust and independent legal system<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>a fair and effective regulatory system<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>a multicultural, multilingual workforce<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>and full access to the EU single market<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We can be proud of the reputation we have built as one of the best places to do business \u2013 we have more overseas financial institutions and investors choosing to do business in and with the UK than any other country. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also great news that earlier in the month, the Global Financial Centres Index kept us in the number one position. <\/p>\n<p>But we need to keep it that way and I\u2019d like to elaborate briefly on three particular areas where we\u2019re taking action to support this.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, we want our financial services industry to be the most competitive and innovative in the world.<\/p>\n<p>We want it to deliver greater choice and value for customers.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re delivering the 7 day Current Account Switch Service and midata, making it easier for customers to switch when they see a better deal.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also helping new entrants and challengers enter the market by lowering the barriers to entry and establishing a regulatory environment which helps smaller, new firms grow. <\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re leading the world on innovation around open bank data to provide a range of extra services to consumers. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also setting the pace when it comes to financial technology, or FinTech. This is already of huge significance to our economy \u2013 last year it brought in \u00a36.6 billion of revenue. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re helping it grow further with a wide range of supporting measures \u2013 from establishing an industry-led panel to lead our strategy, to creating an information hub or creating \u2018FinTech Bridges\u2019 to help our FinTech companies expand internationally. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also looking at how we can best aid FinTech growth around the UK \u2013 be that through regional hubs or special envoys. <\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re not letting our regulation lack behind the advances made in technology \u2013 and the <abbr title=\"Financial Conduct Authority\">FCA<\/abbr> Innovation Hub\u2019s work on this is being copied around the world. <\/p>\n<p>Lastly, we are absolutely determined to invest in the skills of our workforce &#8211; and apprenticeships are at the heart of this.<\/p>\n<p>The new apprenticeship levy will put the funding in the hands of employers to ensure that it delivers the training that they need.  <\/p>\n<p>This will help realise our commitment to significantly increase the quantity and quality of apprenticeships in England to 3 million starts by 2020. <\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re looking at what more we can do to help more women get on in the financial services sector. Last month Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money, published her review into the representation of women in senior jobs in the sector. <\/p>\n<p>Since then we\u2019ve launched a Women in Finance Charter \u2013 asking firms to adopt its recommendations \u2013 and if you haven\u2019t heard of this yet, I\u2019d urge you to look into it and sign up!<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019ll continue to keep our regulation world class; to invest in talent; to develop areas such as financial technology, where we have a competitive advantage; to promote greater competition on the high street; and to continue to build up the strengths of all of our cities and regions. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why we\u2019re here today in the North West.  <\/p>\n<p>BNY Mellon is not alone in recognising that this is a great region for business. <\/p>\n<p>Banks are increasingly choosing to make their homes here in Manchester. <\/p>\n<p>The Cooperative Bank has its headquarters here. Barclays has over 4000 staff here, forming an essential part of their operations \u2013 whether they are supporting the bank\u2019s infrastructure, working on product development or looking at Big Data opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>There is also cutting-edge work in financial technology here.<\/p>\n<p>And beyond Manchester, Liverpool has an experienced wealth, asset and fund management industry. <\/p>\n<p>Chester is also a top city for financial and professional services \u2013 including for example the 2000 people employed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the North West has 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.<\/p>\n<p>And let\u2019s not forget that the region is also within 2 hours rail commute from London and also Birmingham Airport, giving easy access to the UK\u2019s largest international airports at Heathrow and Gatwick.<\/p>\n<p>The North West is proving itself on the world stage as a great place to set up shop.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s easy to see why. <\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, it\u2019s a region that can offer the talent and skills companies need. It\u2019s not surprising. The North West boasts 14 universities and gives us around 50,000 graduates a year \u2013 two-thirds of whom choose to stay in the region after university. <\/p>\n<p>So it is little wonder that the region\u2019s financial services sector now has over 5,000 firms, is worth over \u00a38 billion and already employs almost 100,000 people and counting \u2013 with Manchester alone set to create over 60,000 more jobs in the industry over the next decade. <\/p>\n<p>But I think we\u2019re all here today because we want to see the North West go even further.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why I\u2019m delighted that we are launching the North West Financial Centre of Excellence today\u2026the fourth of an initial series of 8 UK regions, pulling out all the stops to convince companies across the world that they are the places to do business. <\/p>\n<p>This has been an enormously collaborative project: the Treasury, UK Trade &amp; Investment, and local enterprise partnerships have worked and are working hand-in-hand to promote the North West as a \u2018Financial Centre of Excellence\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>And I want to thank everybody who is involved in this \u2013 I\u2019ve been told again and again what a positive process this has been.<\/p>\n<p>But particular mentions must go to Midas here in Manchester, and the Cheshire West &amp; Chester and Liverpool region Local Enterprise partnerships; the Universities of Liverpool, Chester, Manchester, Lancaster, and Manchester Metropolitan and Liverpool John Moores Universities. <\/p>\n<p>And a final thank you to TheCityUK who are helping us reach out far and wide to make our pitch on the world stage. <\/p>\n<p>This project ties in closely with wider government work to help our cities and regions outside London realise their huge potential.<\/p>\n<p>Our concept of the Northern Powerhouse is based on harnessing the latent power of the great cities of the North, and creating something that can compete not only with London, but with cities and financial hubs across the globe.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s based heavily on the work my Ministerial colleague Lord O\u2019Neill carried out in Cities Growth Commission and beyond, which showed that the fastest-growing areas in the world all had clusters of innovative, interconnected urban regions beyond the capital. <\/p>\n<p>So that\u2019s what we want to do in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there is no monopoly on Powerhouses: we\u2019re working closely with all our regions to create growth and build up their strengths.<\/p>\n<p>But the North is where some of the most exciting things are happening. <\/p>\n<p>Look at our devolution agenda. <\/p>\n<p>We strongly believe in putting more power in the hands of the people who know best: the people who actually live there. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve been striking devolution deals with authorities in every part of England, giving local communities more power and responsibility to make the decisions that work best for them. <\/p>\n<p>And last month, our Budget showed how serious we were \u2013 devolving even more powers to Greater Manchester \u2013 like the adult education budget, powers on criminal justice and powers to retain 100% of business rates. <\/p>\n<p>Liverpool, too, will pilot the approach on the retention of business rates, as well as getting new powers over transport.<\/p>\n<p>These are flagship leads: and it\u2019s the North West leading the way.<\/p>\n<p>Investment is an essential part of building the Northern Powerhouse &#8211; in everything from schools to science and technology, transport, digital and innovation, and culture and tourism across the region. <\/p>\n<p>And, at the last Budget, we announced investment in vital transport connections \u2013 such as giving the green light to <abbr title=\"High Speed 3\">HS3<\/abbr> between Leeds and Manchester, spending over \u00a3160 million on improving the road network in the North, and exploring the possibility of a Trans-Pennine tunnel between Sheffield and Manchester. <\/p>\n<p>With state-of-the-art transport links, with award-winning centres of research and development, with world-class skills and with a positive, can-do attitude, we can create another economic revolution here in the North West. <\/p>\n<p>It is, ultimately, our ambition to end the historic North\/South divide: and that will make the whole of the UK more prosperous.<\/p>\n<p>I know it\u2019s an agenda we all share and I look forward to continuing our work together to win more investment, more jobs, more opportunities and more growth for the North West \u2013 it\u2019s not just good for this region, but for the prosperity and success of the country as a whole<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin, spoke at the launch of the Financial Centres of Excellence initiative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70112"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}