Nigel Hinshelwood, head of HSBC UK, has called on other banks to leave London to boost development across the country.
HSBC is moving its UK retail banking headquarters to Birmingham’s Arena Central in 2017. The move will see 1,000 jobs relocated from London.
At the Conservative Party conference, Hinshelwood said: “With 90,000 professional services employees in the West Midlands, it is crucial that one gets access to those and also grows talent in the regions.
“I would encourage other banks maybe not to come to Birmingham, but to go to other centres and continue that development across the country.”
At a fringe event hosted by policy think-tank Centre for Cities, communities minister Sajid Javid linked regeneration in Birmingham to the government’s industrial strategy and commitment to closing the productivity gap between London and the rest of the country.
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