Mark Casci: Region is well placed to be a financial services superpower

One was environmental, owing to the painfully slow progress of my train (one of the quicker services). The distance between Leeds and Manchester is less than that of the Central Line on the London Underground yet the journey took well over an hour, unacceptable given the size of the two economies.

The other was the flood of messages on social media regarding my sentiments in last week’s Business View column that we are in grave danger of any Northern Powerhouse movement becoming a North West Powerhouse, owing to our failure to strike a deal for devolution.

The messages were largely positive as frustration grows over lack of progress but we should not think that all of our hopes for future prosperity are tied to this failure.

The fact remains that there are many areas that Lancashire cannot touch us, and financial services is something we are really leading the way on.

The Leeds City Region is home to 30 national and international banks, and is home to the headquarters of three of the five largest building societies. Leeds is a major centre for mortgage, corporate and retail finance, insurance and stockbroking. The city is also an important centre for equity, venture and risk finance. Other cities in Yorkshire are also important finance hubs. Sheffield has a strong presence in processing and servicing functions and is strong in legal services. Halifax’s expertise lies in banking.

The region benefits from several top-ranked universities and business schools offering finance and business education. This proximity to universities ensures that local businesses can access a broad graduate talent pool.

Data out today from The City UK shows that of the 2.2m people working in financial services in the UK, 139,000 are in Yorkshire and these jobs contribute not far off 10 per cent of the regions GVA.

In Leeds alone there are more than 36,000 people working in financial centres, nearly one in 10 of the entire city’s workforce.

Last week, one of the institutions which plays a key role in these strong numbers, Leeds Building Society, reported the fourth consecutive year of record results and its chief executive Peter Hill thinks that it is this side of the Pennines that is flexing its financial might better than elsewhere.

“I actually think personal financial services can be a superpower for Yorkshire and the North East. You have three of the top five building societies in Yorkshire, you have got the likes of First Direct which is a brand leader in what they do and very distinctive. In the North East you have got Virgin Money, we have got Yorkshire Bank here and you have got the likes of Atom Bank, newly established in the North East.

“What this creates is a Northern Powerhouse for retail financial services. I think what we should be doing in Yorkshire is thinking about how we develop and grow this.”

He is not wrong. In Manchester financial bodies are struggling. One only has to look at the travails of the Co-op bank and, until the last week the expectation was that Willaims and Glynn was going to set up in Manchester.

That is now not going to happen.

Despite some sectors of the city looking to flee post-Brexit London remains core to the industry’s strong position but the fact is major centres like Yorkshire and the Humber play a key role in maintaining the UK’s place as the world’s leading financial centre.

All we need now is for Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town to be promoted to the Premier League and all of a sudden the North West Powerhouse will start to look over its shoulder.

Who needs politicians?