Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK–Switzerland financial dialogue on the UK’s wider financial diplomacy strategy.

Financial regulatory dialogues, including the UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue, are important to supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July. Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings.

The most recent UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue was held on Thursday 9 October in Bern, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement. Participants also discussed future opportunities to further develop the Berne Financial Services Agreement, noting that Article 12 of the Agreement commits the UK and Switzerland to enter into negotiations with a view to potentially expanding the Agreement to include sustainable finance at the appropriate time.