UK and Switzerland agree to deepen ties between City and Swiss banking system

The UK and Switzerland will agree to forge closer links on Thursday in a post-Brexit accord that aims to deepen ties between the City and the Swiss banking system.

In a move that brings Europe’s largest financial centres closer together, the mutual recognition agreement will be signed on Thursday by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, during a visit to Berne.

The Treasury said the tie-up was a boost for post-Brexit Britain and would ease cross-border market access for a wide range of financial services sold by insurers, banks and asset managers.

The chancellor will claim the agreement was only possible once the UK had quit the EU and was able to strike its own deals with leading financial centres.

“The Berne Financial Services Agreement is only possible due to new freedoms granted to the UK following its exit from the EU,” the Treasury told the Financial Times. “The agreement will enhance the UK and Switzerland’s already thriving financial services relationship.”

The Treasury is expected to say the deal will allow large companies and wealthy individuals in each country to more easily conduct business

Source: The Guardian