I’ll give the City the flexibility it needs to thrive outside the EU

Reported today on City AM

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Now that we have left the EU, we begin a new chapter in our history.Strengthened by a decade of economic recovery, we will step forward with confidence into an era of unity and renewal. We will level up, decarbonise our economy, and back business.Our world-leading financial services sector will play a crucial role in this. From leading centres like London and Edinburgh to regional hubs in Leeds and Birmingham, financial services are integral to our country. The sector helps drive our economy, employing more than one million people across the UK - two thirds of whom are outside of London - contributing £127bn to our economy every year, and bringing in over £75bn in taxes that help fund our vital public services.As we level up the whole country, our financial services sector will help create jobs, innovate, and boost investment around the UK. It's also a great British export, and I am determined to keep it that way now and in the decades to come.From next year, we will have the freedom to make our own rules outside the constraints of the Single Market and customs union. And as the Prime Minister has set out, we want a future relationship with the EU where we work together in pursuit of common interests.What does this mean for the financial sector?First, we will pursue fulfilling the joint commitment that the UK and EU have already made to conclude a full range of equivalence assessments by June 2020.As we leave the EU with the same rules, achieving equivalence on day one should not be complicated. Of course, each side will only grant equivalence if it believes the other's regulations are compatible. But compatible does not mean identical, and both the UK and the EU have at different times recognised the importance of focusing on regulatory outcomes.We will no longer be

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