The UK’s Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, James Squire, started his new job in January. Ahead of Thursday’s UK-Swiss Financial Services Exchange event in Zurich, he told finews.com when the UK and Switzerland are aiming to finalize an agreement between their financial services industries and what the two financial centres have in common.
Mr Squire, the UK and Switzerland are rivals when it comes to promoting their financial industries, why should they work together?
The strength of the UK and Swiss financial services sectors owes a lot to our commitment to innovation. The Global Innovation Index consistently recognizes both the UK and Switzerland as two of the world’s most innovative countries, and one of the best ways to break new ground is to share ideas and work together. That’s why we signed a Memorandum of Understanding in November to deepen the relationship between the world-leading UK and Swiss research and innovation communities, and why we are always working to facilitate these exchanges and deliver our commitment to free and frictionless trade with our like-minded partners.
Who would get the most out of a trade deal?
Both the UK and Switzerland have led a scoping and consultation process with businesses and trade associations. The purpose of an enhanced free trade agreement is to facilitate mutually beneficial trade and investment that reflects our modern economies and is good for businesses, consumers, innovators, and both our economies as a whole. Businesses trading as smoothly and efficiently as possible is good for both our economies, and that is why it is in our interest to work together to understand any challenges and explore new opportunities.
Tomorrow the UK-Swiss Financial Services Exchange is being held in Zurich, where UK fintechs will present themselves to investors among other attendees. Would an event the other way around also make sense – i.e., a meeting between Swiss fintechs with UK Investors?
The UK-Swiss Financial Services Exchange is an opportunity to break new ground and develop links that will benefit partners in both markets. We have selected a really strong set of companies who have a lot to offer their Swiss clients and we look forward to a really fruitful and meaningful exchange.
The Northern Ireland Brexit deal provides us with the basis to move forward together as one united country
Furthermore, CityUK is hosting a FinTech Innovation Roundtable this week, the next meeting of the Bilateral Trade and Investment Council will take place next week, and UK FinTech Week will return next month in London. We actively encourage Swiss companies to take advantage of these opportunities and the potential that the UK has to offer as an innovative global financial centre.
How does the Northern Ireland Brexit deal with the EU affect the UK´s negotiations with Switzerland? Is there now less pressure on the UK to make an agreement with Switzerland?
The agreement announced by the Prime Minister last week was extremely important to remove the border in the Irish Sea and enable goods destined for Northern Ireland to move easily without burdensome customs bureaucracy. It provides a stable framework for the future and provides us with the basis to move forward together as one united country.
We have a number of significant and ambitious agreements underway with Switzerland that we are very excited about and we are constantly looking for new opportunities to continue to build the links between our two countries.
At the end of June 2020, Rishi Sunak, acting as British chancellor of the exchequer, and Ueli Maurer, who was Federal Councillor at the time, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of reaching an agreement regarding the countries’ financial sectors by the end of last year. When can we expect a deal? Why the delay?
We are particularly excited about the new, ambitious free trade agreement currently under discussion, and deepening our cooperation on financial services through a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA).
The deal will reduce the costs and barriers for UK and Swiss firms to access each other’s markets
The MRA is highly novel because it encourages regulatory cooperation and facilitates cross-border business based on an assessment of the outcomes achieved by each other’s regulation. It is a truly ambitious agreement without a comparable precedent to an ambitious timetable. We expect to conclude the negotiations by late summer 2023.
What is this Mutual Recognition Agreement aiming for specifically and which areas will it affect?
Our ambition is to deliver one of the most comprehensive agreements of its kind in financial services which will reduce the costs and barriers for UK and Swiss firms to access each other’s markets.
The agreement is expected to cover a wide range of areas including, insurance, investment services, asset management and capital market infrastructure.
This is your first appointment as an ambassador to a country. Before entering the Foreign Office 14 years ago you worked as a fund manager at Schroders. Can you describe your current role and tell me why you switched to diplomacy?
Diplomacy and fund management are both about understanding what is happening in the world and what is driving developments, as well as seeking to influence them. Working in the financial services sector gave me a good grounding in understanding corporate strategies and how leaders in the private sector think about investment decisions.
Serving and promoting the UK economy is a vital part of my role as Ambassador, but I am responsible for all of the British government’s engagement with Switzerland. This means I could be planting a tree in the morning as part of an environmental project, meeting a Federal Councillor in the afternoon to talk about key current international political issues, and hosting a business dinner for UK and Swiss companies in the evening.
It is a hands-on and outward-facing role, representing the UK in Switzerland, and looking for opportunities to engage and work more closely with our Swiss friends and partners.
James Squire took up his post as His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation and non-resident Ambassador to the Principality of Liechtenstein in January 2023. Since joining the Diplomatic Service in 2008, James has also worked in a number of other foreign policy and corporate roles, including the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations in New York. Before joining the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, Squire was a Fund Manager with Schroders PLC and is a Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholder. He is married with three children.
*Finews.com is acting as a media partner for the UK-Swiss Financial Services Exchange
