UK banking sector assured of support

UK FINANCE Minister Philip Hammond sought to reassure Britain’s banking sector that he would protect its access to skilled labour and the EU’s single market once the country leaves the bloc. He told lawmakers that the sector’s interests would be “a very high priority” for the government when it tried to balance the need for continued access to EU markets with the call from voters for tighter control on migration. “I cannot conceive of any circumstances in which we would be using those migration controls to prevent banks, companies moving highly qualified and skilled people between different parts of their businesses,” he said. The financial services industry contributes about 12 percent to the UK’s economic output. – Reuters