Ministers Try to Show Unity Before Brexit Negotiations
December 05 2016 - 11:40AM
Dow Jones News
The two U.K. government ministers who will represent Britain's
banking sector in upcoming Brexit negotiations held their first
joint meeting with financiers Monday in an effort to show a united
front after months of infighting.
The U.K. Treasury and the newly created Department for Exiting
the European Union, or Dexeu, butted heads soon after the June vote
amid a power grab for influence in the negotiations to quit the
European Union, government advisers and bankers have said.
On Monday Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and
Secretary of State David Davis co-chaired their first round-table
discussion on Brexit with executives from the U.K.'s banking,
insurance, asset management and market infrastructure sectors. The
meeting was attended by the chairs of Barclays PLC, Santander U.K.
and top executives from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and BlackRock
Inc., among others.
The effort to mend relations follows complaints by bankers of
having to hold multiple meetings with the two departments to
discuss the same issues. The U.K. Treasury has said it would
represent the finance sector in the negotiations, but Dexeu is in
charge of leading the overall talks.
After the vote to leave the EU, tensions initially flared when
some bankers said that it was difficult to get Dexeu to understand
their position, that the industry needed Brexit to be phased in
over several years to give them a chance to reshape their
businesses. The U.K. Treasury has been more understanding on this
point, they say.
Mr. Davis's position seems to have softened of late. Last week
he said the U.K. would consider making payments to the European
Union's budget to secure the best-possible trade access to the
bloc. That marked a turnabout from earlier when Prime Minister
Theresa May suggested the U.K. would prioritize taking control of
immigration during negotiations. Meanwhile coordination between the
two departments has improved, officials say.
Monday's meeting was held on neutral ground in a skyscraper in
central London. Bankers voiced their views on concerns and
opportunities for the sector after Brexit, according to a person
familiar with the matter. Mr. Davis and Mr. Hammond put out a joint
statement saying they recognized the importance of the U.K.'s
financial center. "We will work together to ensure it continues as
the hub for both Europe and the rest of the world," said the
statement.
Keeping the financial sector both happy and in the U.K. has
potentially huge ramifications for the country's public finances.
The sector accounts for 12% of exports and £ 60 billion of tax
revenue each year, the government said.
Banks are already scoping out foreign hubs in the EU to house
parts of their business if the U.K. does leave the single market as
expected.
Write to Max Colchester at max.colchester@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 05, 2016 11:25 ET (16:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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