International

Overseas political and regulatory developments have the potential to affect our members who use their UK operations to do business outside the UK. UK Finance therefore has an International Affairs function with overall responsibility to oversee and coordinate our work abroad.

We closely monitor relevant developments outside of the UK and consider their impact on our members, such as any onerous proposals on foreign providers of financial services. We therefore engage regularly with policymakers from key markets, including the EU, US, and Switzerland. We also work closely with other City organisations to ensure these engagements are coordinated across UK industry so that there is a consistent, UK voice on key overseas issues.

Our International Affairs function also seeks to help members’ businesses in the UK do business abroad by working to mitigate or eliminate regulatory, administrative and other barriers to trade in financial services (see our report on international trade in financial services). We work to support both financial services exports from, and imports into, the UK. This is part of our wider “UK competitiveness” work to enhance the UK as a global hub for all financial services businesses that wish to use their UK presence to undertake international business. We undertake this work by engaging with key Government departments on their international trade policy initiatives, as well as sitting on standing Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury groups. These include HM Treasury’s Expert Trade Advisory Group, the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Civil Society Forum and the UK Domestic Advisory Group, and the   Services Policy Insight Forum.

If you would like to discuss our International Affairs activities, then please get in touch with us at internationalaffairs@ukfinance.org.uk