UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Ueli Maurer, the Head of Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance, have today announced a commitment by the two countries to develop an international agreement on financial services. Reacting to the announcement, Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation said:

“Switzerland and the UK are natural partners and world leaders when it comes to financial services exports, so it is vital that we deepen our relationship in the years to come. I therefore warmly welcome the commitment made by the Treasury and the Swiss Federal Department of Finance today, setting out a pathway towards an unprecedented level of mutual cooperation for financial services trade between our two countries.

“This sends out a signal to the world that we remain an open trading nation, connecting the world to capital, and keen to work with like-minded partners. It also supports a thriving Global City for the future, positively contributing to prosperity for businesses and consumers in both of our countries and across the world.

“The post-COVID recovery, climate change and the digitisation of global finance all represent major challenges for the global economy, and it will require international collaboration such as this to overcome them.”