British finance sector demands closer ties with Europe ahead of UK-EU summit

LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - British banks are seeking closer ties with the European Union, according to a report published by industry lobbying body UK Finance on Monday, ahead of a summit between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and officials from the bloc scheduled for July and aimed at "resetting" ties between the two.

The report said banks were not seeking to undo Brexit or "reverse convergence into the EU Single Market," but instead to formalise aspects of the Memorandum of Understanding on Financial Services Cooperation between Britain and Europe signed in 2023.

The report marks one of the most assertive declarations yet by Britain's financial industry that it is seeking to integrate further with its European counterpart, a decade on from the June 2016 Brexit referendum which saw Britain leave the bloc and cut off some access to its financial markets.

• Report from UK Finance calls for the UK-EU forum on finance to move beyond simple information sharing to proactive coordination on new initiatives.

• UK Finance seeking financial services to be a dedicated agenda item at annual EU-UK summit.

• Report calls for an array of specific technical changes that would foster closer collaboration, including allowing UK and EU professionals to work in each other's jurisdictions for a set period such as 90 days.

• Banks lobby for closer equivalence on capital risk weighting, other areas.

• Debate over closer regulatory alignment contrasts with some City sources who have argued UK should use its post‑Brexit freedoms to adopt rules tailored to domestic priorities.

(Reporting by Lawrence White, Editing by Louise Heavens)