International trade and investment

Our international strategy aims to secure the UK’s status as the world-leading international financial centre.

Our international work

Our international strategy aims to secure the UK’s status as the world-leading international financial centre.

"The government wholeheartedly supports [TheCityUK’s international strategy] recommendations and is already putting many of them into action.”

Rt Hon Greg Hands MP

A key priority of our strategy is to contribute to the development of an independent UK trade and investment policy that promotes the international growth of member firms and advances the UK’s world-leading position in financial and related professional services. With the support of our International Trade and Investment Group, we do this by:

  • encouraging collaboration between industry, government and regulators to promote the UK’s international competitiveness, grow the UK’s share in global financial and professional services’ markets, and build new capabilities in key areas of future growth
  • developing and maintaining bilateral trade and investment relationships with major trading partners and countries which present significant opportunities for UK-based companies
  • ensuring these key relationships help deliver UK ambitions in plurilateral and multilateral contexts, influencing the future shape of the UK’s regulatory, legal and tax regimes and the approach of its regulatory and supervisory authorities; this includes the evolution of the frameworks affecting businesses as they adapt to technological, environmental and social change
  • developing potential opportunities for the industry in developed, emerging and niche markets
  • supporting key market initiatives and services trade
  • continuing to be a partner to UK Government efforts to deepen economic relationships with key markets such as the US, China, Switzerland, Japan and Singapore
  • drawing on work of the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) on international standards and multilateral/cross-cutting regulatory issues across different markets to advise the work of the Market Advisory Groups.

Find out more about our international work:

International outcomes and activity

We have continued to deliver on our ambitious international strategy, securing key outcomes for members, including influencing government policy and minimising the impact on trade from the growing number of data localisation regimes.

Driving UK growth: Capturing future international investment in a rapidly changing world

The UK is a world-leading hub for high-value services. The UK-based financial and related professional services industry alone employs almost 2.5 million people, two thirds outside London.

TheCityUK International Conference

Our International Conference 2023 brought together influential leaders from across the financial and related professional services industry, politics and the regulators.

An international strategy for the UK-based financial and related professional services industry

Our strategy outlines steps which can see the UK regain its status as the world’s No.1 international financial centre within five years.