These pages provides UK exporters in the Financial Services Sector with information on assistance available from UK Trade & Investment as well as some other sector information and contacts.
Summary
The UK is the world's leading international financial services centre employing over 1 million people and with net overseas earnings of £31.2 billion in 2000 (5.1% of GDP). The City of London is one of world's three leading financial centres and the largest centre for many international financial markets. The City is characterised by deep, highly liquid markets, a concentration of industry-wide skilled workforce and quality, innovative products. The UK has the world’s largest share in: metals market (95%); Eurobond trade (70%); foreign equity market (58%); derivative market (36%); tanker charter business (50%); insurance (22%).
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Disputes are a fact of human life. They can be painful and costly. Efficient dispute resolution is an essential lubricant of business. Whether a dispute can be resolved privately through arbitration or mediation, or can be resolved only through litigation, London is the place you will find the most appropriate, swift, fair and cost effective process. London provides dispute resolution service in a wide range of areas including maritime and aviation, banking and insurance, commodities and construction, and oil and gas.
Banking
The UK enjoys one of the most diverse and dynamic banking sectors in the world. It has the highest concentration of foreign banks in the world - 481 in 2000 (next nearest was the USA with 287). In 2000 London accounted for 19.1% of global cross-border bank lending, more than any other centre. Total assets of the UK banking system were £3,441 bn (August 2001) of which 55% belonged to foreign banks. The assets of UK owned banks, totalling £1,336 bn are dominated by a dozen or so retail banks, with national branch networks, mostly serving domestic, personal and corporate customers.
Insurance
The UK has the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance market covering common motor insurance to space satellites. The UK insurance business generated premium income of almost £174 bn in 2000. This was the third largest in the world, exceeded only by the US and Japan. The London market is a unique international wholesale insurance market-place and is the global market leader in aviation and marine insurance, with market shares of 31% and 19% respectively.
Pensions Reform
With a rapidly ageing population the world face a pensions crisis and many countries are passing the burden for pensions provision from the state sector to the private sector. The UK has unrivalled experience in private pension funds. A far higher proportion of pension payments are provided by the private sector in the UK than in nearly any other country. There are many British professionals including lawyers, actuaries and tax advisors who have extensive experience in advising countries on implementing tax reforms.
Privatisation
The placing of ownership and operation of a business from state control into the private sector was pioneered by the UK in the 1980s. Some 400 privatisations have been completed around the world many of them with input and advice from UK-based law forms, accountants and investment banks. Privatisation was essentially a UK product and UK expertise is acknowledged worldwide. This expertise has been developed against widely differing market conditions and across a broad spectrum of sectors and disciplines.
Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
London is the leading centre for expertise in PPP. Legal advisors, financial advisors, investment bankers and contractors, experienced a wide range of projects throughout the world, operate from the UK.
Fund/Asset Management
The value of identified assets under management increased by 40% between 1995 and the end of 1998 to £2.5 bn - 23% on behalf of overseas clients. Contributing factors which also provide selling points for the industry include - highly sophisticated and innovative management styles, techniques and strategies, a skilled labour force and high quality professional and support services, a highly liquid market with the opportunity to trade in large blocks of shares and an open and liberalised operating environment combined with protection against abuses.
Securities
Besides a substantial domestic market in equities and bonds the UK is a major international centre for trading in the Euromarket. Eurobonds account for the majority of all bonds issued and the UK issues 60% of them and has a 70% share of the secondary market. More funds are invested in the London than the ten top European centres combined. Edinburgh is the UK’s second major fund management centre and 6th largest in Europe. London is the largest centre for institutional equity management and also has the World’s largest share of the OTC derivatives market at 36% with a turnover of US$275bn in 2000. The UK has 31.1% of the global Forex market with a daily turnover of US$504bn.
More foreign companies are traded on the London Stock Exchange than on any other exchange (475 companies listed at the end of 2000). Turnover in these companies in London represents 48% of global turnover in foreign equities in 2000.
