The chancellor has announced plans to sign a new agreement on financial services cooperation with the European Union (EU).

The move comes as Jeremy Hunt attends a series of meetings with European commissioners in the first visit from a UK Chancellor in more than three years.

The government said that the deal will establish an ongoing forum for the UK and EU to discuss “voluntary regulatory cooperation” on financial services issues.

The Memorandum of Understanding says that both the UK and EU will "share information, work together towards meeting joint challenges and coordinate positions where appropriate on issues ahead of G7, G20 and other international meetings".

Government figures show that of the £11 trillion assets managed in the UK in 2020, around 44 per cent was on behalf of international investors, including the EU.

"The UK and EU’s financial markets are deeply interconnected and building a constructive, voluntary relationship is of mutual benefit to us both,” said Jeremy Hunt, chancellor of the exchequer.

He continued: “This agreement with our European partners as sovereign equals builds on our arrangements with the U.S., Japan and Singapore, helping to support the sector’s role as a global financial services hub.”

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