TheCityUK


TheCityUK is a private-sector membership body and industry advocacy group promoting the financial and related professional services industry of the United Kingdom. TheCityUK is often referred to as the industry's "most powerful" or "most prominent" lobbyists with close links to the UK Government and to policymakers in Brussels and Washington.
Although 'The City' in the UK usually refers to the City of London, the world's foremost financial centre, the organisation also represents the industry throughout the UK. As a business-led body, TheCityUK is distinct from the City of London Corporation which is the local government administrative body for the district of London which contains the traditional heart of the city's financial services industry, sometimes referred to as the Square-Mile.
The organisation focuses on three main areas:
TheCityUK also conducts primary research among members, businesses and consumers about relevant financial and professional services issues and produces a range of authoritative economic reports on industry sectors, products, and key financial indicators.

History

In June 2008, the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, launched the Review of the Competitiveness of London’s Financial Centre and asked its authors to make clear recommendations on how the capital could best sustain and strengthen its reputation as the “global capital of finance”. A recommendation of this review was the formation of a new body to bring together existing overlapping financial and related professional services groups. This body would be tasked with promoting London’s financial services sector overseas, anticipating strategically important trends and highlighting to the domestic audience the industry’s contribution to the UK.
In 2009 a second and separate report from a group of industry representatives chaired by then UK Chancellor, Alistair Darling, and former Citigroup chairman, Sir Winfried Bischoff, recommended the creation of a new independent body to ‘promote the industry at home and overseas’. The report also recommended the group should have a ‘formal link’ to a forum, led by government, which would focus on strategic issues relating to the financial industry. Based on this recommendation TheCityUK was founded in 2010 under the chairmanship of Sir Winfried Bischoff. The founding Chief Executive was Chris Cummings. The report also led to the founding of Financial Services Trade and Investment Board, a partnership body sitting between the UK government and industry.

Financial Services Trade and Investment Board

TheCityUK sits on the government's Financial Services Trade and Investment Board. The Financial Services Trade and Investment Board is part of HM Treasury and is a partnership between the UK government and industry. The board meets on a quarterly basis to develop high-growth initiatives such as Renminbi internationalisation, green finance and fintech. Its aim is to strengthen Britain's position as the centre of global finance and deliver jobs and growth across the country.

TheCityUK Boards and committees

Board of Directors

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TheCityUK's Leadership Council brings together a cross-sectoral group of the most senior leaders from the industry. The Council approves TheCityUK strategy and its members can be appointed to lead on major programmes of work. These meetings are regularly attended by Government Ministers, senior regulators, Ambassadors and other leading stakeholders.
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Independent Economist Group (IEG)

TheCityUK's Independent Economists Group meets quarterly, giving organisation access to the expertise of leading City economists, as well as of academics and public-sector experts who occasionally join IEG meetings as guests. Chaired by Dr Andrew Sentance, Senior Economic Adviser at PwC, the group currently includes members from about 20 leading financial and related professional services firms with a UK presence, including: City of London Corporation, EY, KPMG, Nomura Group.
The group discusses economic issues that affect the industry. The research arising from these discussions provides a macroeconomic perspective on many of the key issues facing the UK financial and related professional services sector.

International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG)

The International Regulatory Strategy Group is a practitioner-led body composed of leading UK-based figures from the financial and related professional services industry. Within an overall goal of promoting sustainable economic growth, it seeks to identify opportunities for engagement with governments, regulators and European and international institutions to promote an international framework that will facilitate open and competitive capital markets globally. Its role includes identifying strategic issues where a cross-sectoral position can add value to existing industry views. The Group is currently Chaired by Mark Hoban.
The IRSG is made up of three core decision-making bodies the Council which sets the high level strategic direction for the IRSG; an Executive Board which sets the priorities for the IRSG and oversees delivery of its work programme; and the Experts and Engagement Group, which gathers together technical experts and practitioners to discuss priority issues and to staff the many work streams that the IRSG undertakes.
The following government departments and regulatory bodies sit as observers on the IRSG Council:
The International Trade & Investment Group identifies new trends within the regulatory and tax environment where the UK can taking a leading role and take advantage of emerging opportunities around the globe. ITIG is focussed on identifying opportunities for two-way trade and investment, as well as identifying market access possibilities and breaking down barriers to trade and investment. It is a cross-sectoral senior practitioner body composed of members of TheCityUK.
The group has two major functions:
  1. to provide oversight, advice and input on the TheCityUK's international strategy, priorities and activities, including the development of our Market and Sector Advisory Groups which fall within the international framework
  2. to provide the industry's input to the Financial Services Trade and Investment Board.

    Public Affairs Group (PAG)

TheCityUK's Public Affairs Group brings together senior members with expertise in government relations, public policy and public affairs to discuss the development and implementation of TheCityUK's strategy. PAG's work is broadly divided into engagement in the UK and in the EU. It takes the form of bilateral meetings, roundtables, seminars and conferences, leveraging rigorous original research and thought leadership, with campaigns integrated across public affairs and public relations. The group is currently chaired by Nick Collier.

Liberalisation of Trade in Services (LOTIS) Committee

The Liberalisation of Trade in Services Committee, is a working group within TheCityUK, established in 1981 to enable discussions on overseas trade with the UK Government. It was founded under the chairmanship of Sir Malcolm Wilcox and is currently chaired by John Cooke; Michael Palliser, Sir Derek Thomas, Sir Nicholas Bayne and Christopher Roberts were previous chairmen. Committee members represent Standard Chartered, British Bankers' Association, Lloyd's, Association of British Insurers, Law Society of England and Wales, Association for Financial Markets in Europe, Institute of Chartered Accountants, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Standard Life, HSBC, Thomson Reuters, BNP Paribas, and Prudential. Meetings are attended by representatives from HM Treasury, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, and Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A separate High Level LOTIS Working group was established in 1998 and was later chaired by Leon Brittan.
The LOTIS Committee formed a separate working group for discussions specific to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The TTIP Working Group consists of representatives from Thomson Reuters, The Law Society, JP Morgan, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, IUA, Lloyd's, Deloitte, Association for Financial Markets in Europe, Standard Chartered, and TheCityUK itself. Meetings are attended by representatives from HM Treasury and Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

TheCityUK Industry Groups