Prudential chairman Paul Manduca is lobbying for a Brexit deal with the European Union that would preserve the UK’s status as a financial centre in the continent.
Manduca, co-head of the Brexit committee of the TheCityUK lobby group, said a “no change” deal will allow Britain to maintain its access to the EU single market and to continue unrestrictive cross-border hiring.
“We want a deal post-Brexit as close [as possible] to what we have today for financial services — open and free markets where we can trade without barriers — and we want a partnership with government as we work through that process,” Manduca told the
Financial Times in an interview.
The insurance boss said London negotiators will keep on pushing for a Brexit deal that would uphold the current system. He stressed that upholding the UK’s position as a financial hub is in the interest of both the UK and EU.
“The deep markets that have been created over more than 100 years in London are not replicable elsewhere easily,” the
Financial Times quoted him as saying. “[That is] an asset for the UK and Europe.”
On employment, Manduca expressed confidence that the UK’s hiring of workers from abroad will not be constrained post-Brexit.
Manduca also called for a “close collaboration” between the government and the industry throughout the Brexit negotiations.
He believes that the Brexit process could last from five to 10 years, though it would be manageable “if people feel the government are pointed in the right direction.”
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