2007年3月28日伦敦金融城因移民而繁荣
英国央行(Bank of England)负责金融稳定的副行长约翰o吉弗爵士(Sir John Gieve)3月26日表示,英国的欧盟(EU)成员国身份及移民开放政策,推动了伦敦金融城(City)作为全球金融中心的快速发展。 Britain's membership of the European Union and its openness to immigration have helped the rapid growth of the City of London as an international financial centre, the Bank of England's deputy governor for financial stability said on the 26th March. Sir John Gieve said in a speech to the London Society of Accountants that "the single most important factor" in helping the City's growth is "its skilled labour and financial know-how". He also cited other advantages as having English as its mother tongue, a favourable time zone between the US and Asia, and a benign regulatory and legal environment. He went on: "The free movement of labour within the European Union, and relative openness to immigration by those with specific expertise from outside it, has also meant that employers in the financial sector can access the world labour market. And the relative flexibility of the labour market here in the UK compared to others in Europe may also be a factor." Sir John, the top civil servant at the Home Office before joining the Bank in January 2006, said the concentration of skilled labour had spurred competition and innovation, contributing to the rapid growth of hedge fund management and private equity firms in London. The City employs about 1 per cent of the UK workforce - twice the equivalent proportion for Germany and more than in manufacturing. Financial services and its professional services support account for about 12 per cent of the UK's gross domestic product, according to Sir John. This compares with 14 per cent for manufacturing. A report published in January by McKinsey and commissioned by Michael Bloomberg, New York's mayor, found that New York was losing market share in financial services to London, as banks moved from Wall Street to the UK capital. But he warned: "One of the clear lessons from history is that any position can be lost. It is always possible to throw away an advantage by ill-judged decisions." In addition, "any widespread operational disruption or fear about security could also be very damaging, which is one reason why we and the other tripartite authorities [the Bank, the Financial Services Authority, the regulator, and the Treasury] are spending so much time on improving crisis response and management." |