Yorkshire financial services sector '˜will be at forefront of Brexit strategy'

The Chancellor also believes that major banks have undergone a cultural change since the financial crash, which is steering staff away from risky behaviour.

He made the comments as he visited Halifax yesterday to meet senior figures from regional professional and financial services firms. Mr Hammond hosted a private roundtable at Lloyds Banking Group in Halifax and toured the building and chatted to staff.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Hammond said he was visiting Halifax to emphasise that financial services is a UK-wide business.

He said: “We often talk about financial services, and people think we are talking about the City of London.”

He added: “This is an industry that employs 2.2 million people across the UK in financial services centres like Leeds and like Halifax.

“More than 60 per cent of all employees in the sector are based outside London and this is a series of visits to try and get that perspective back into balance, so that as we’re thinking about the future of the financial services business, post-Brexit, (and) how we are going to regulate it; we’ve got a proper focus on the needs of the much bigger domestic UK financial services business sector, and make that sure we don’t just get a London-centric view of the sector.”