Belfast is a fintech powerhouse. The City can gain from its expertise

As the number one city in the world for fintech inward investment projects, Belfast can offer expertise to boost the City, writes Lord Mayor Alastair King

In my first column for City AM as Lord Mayor last month, I made a very simple promise: mine would be a high-energy mayoralty, one in which I see my role as being cheerleader-in-chief for the United Kingdom’s entire financial and professional services sector – whether that service is rendered in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh or indeed Belfast. It is a commitment I take seriously, and one I am delighted to be putting into action on a visit to Northern Ireland this week. 

There is no shortage of statistics to demonstrate London’s status as the number one financial centre in the world, with preeminent expertise in areas like insurance, legal services and foreign exchange, as well as considerable clout in sectors such as asset management, banking, commodities trading and maritime services. But we neglect the nationwide financial and professional services ecosystem that underpins that success at our peril. 

After all, the City of London thrives, in part, because it maintains strong and deep connections with a broad spectrum of other financial centres. When people come to do business in the City, they not only seek the advice, services and talent that exists here within the Square Mile, but those found in the regions and across the whole of the UK. That includes fintech and sustainable finance in Northern Ireland. 

Belfast’s fintech prowess

Of course, Northern Ireland is a major financial hub in its own right, hosting global leaders from Citi and PwC to Visa and Danske Bank, with some 45,000 people employed in its financial services sector as a whole. In fact, according to the Financial Times, Belfast remains the number one city in the world for fintech inward investment projects, and unsurprisingly, as a result, it is in Northern Ireland that you will find the highest concentration of fintech employment anywhere in the UK. What’s more, as the BBC reported just last week, Northern Ireland’s economy is expected to grow faster than the UK average this year. 

These numbers are already bearing fruit in a series of exciting projects, not least the International Regulatory Supercluster Group established last year by the North West City Region. With campuses in Letterkenny and Derry-Londonderry, this cross-border initiative brings together industry, academics and public bodies to drive world-class research in regulation technology. While the City Corporation has worked closely with the Supercluster since its inception, I am looking forward to meetings with Derry City and Strabane District Council and Invest Northern Ireland, as well as visits to some of the project’s other key partners like Catalyst and Ulster University, to discuss how we can deepen that cooperation further still.

Working with the City of London

Needless to say, it is so much more than just geography and finance that binds Northern Ireland and the City of London together, which is why I am excited to also be meeting other civic leaders, policymakers and organisations during the course of my trip. From the Lord Mayor of Belfast and The Honourable The Irish Society to reaffirm our close ties, to the higher education institutions like Queen’s University Belfast.

To repurpose the words of Seamus Heaney from a speech he delivered at the National Museum of Ireland during the depths of the financial crisis: “We are not simply a credit rating or an economy, but a history and a culture, a human population rather than a statistical phenomenon.”

By building on our respective expertise and the close partnerships we enjoy – ones based on strong social, cultural and familial ties – Northern Ireland and the City can continue to co-author our shared success story of growth, innovation and financial stability long into the future. 

Alastair King is the Lord Mayor of London