Switzerland and Britain are cementing a five-year-old pledge to work more closely together including in their respective flagship financial industries, according to Swiss banking's top lobbyist.
The alignment of Switzerland's financial center with the City of London is taking shape with the two hubs are in advanced talks, Swiss banking lobby head Marcel Rohner said at an event overnight. «I am optimistic that we will reach an agreement in 2022.»
The two – first and second-largest offshore centers in the world – launched the idea in 2016 shortly after British voters backed an exit from the European Union. Britain left the trading bloc this year.
Rohner's Warning
It is natural for the two European outsiders to work together, the banking representatives argued. «Switzerland's financial center has a major interest in playing a part here,» Rohner said. The former CEO of UBS during the 2008/09 crisis, Rohner took over the lobby job from Herbert Scheidt in September 2021.
He warned of «oversensitive protectionist actions» by Switzerland which could jeopardize a British-Swiss pact. This alludes to the EU, which in bilateral negotiations with Switzerland prevented the alpine nation from gaining market access to key markets in the bloc, such as Italy and France.
Cross-Border ESG Hub
Rohner said a British-Swiss agreement is a «major opportunity» to establish international standards for sustainable investments, for example, instead of adapting those of the EU. This would pave the way for London and Switzerland to become a hub for cross-border ESG investments.
