LONDON (Reuters) – The governing body of London’s financial district has announced plans to open offices in New York and Washington DC, in a push by British policymakers to forge stronger international financial ties after Brexit.
The City of London Corporation, which runs the capital’s so-called ‘Square Mile’, said its New York outpost opened on Monday, with the Washington DC office set to open on Tuesday.
The organisation said its aim was to help Britain foster closer financial regulatory cooperation with the United States, improve market access for British firms and attract greater US investment into Britain.
The move comes as Britain pursues a welter of reforms designed to boost capital inflow and regain lost ground to rival financial centres, after Brexit largely cut its access to one of its biggest markets- the European Union.
British lawmakers last week criticised the package of reforms to date as a “damp squib”, arguing they were yet to make a substantial impact.
Britain’s financial services minister Bim Afolami welcomed the City of London’s office openings in the United States, adding that the UK government wanted to encourage closer trade and investment between the two countries.
(Reporting by Iain Withers; editing by David Evans)
