The board, which was was established by the Chancellor at his 2013 Budget, will be chaired by Treasury director general of financial services Charles Roxburgh and report to the chancellor.
It will feature senior members from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the department for Business, Innovation and Skills, TheCityUK and the city’s new International Trade and Investment Group, chaired by Sir Andrew Cahn.
The board also has five independent external members who will provide advice and expertise on a pro bono basis.
They have been named as Ana Botin (CEO Santander UK), Douglas Flint (chairman HSBC), Martin Gilbert (CEO Aberdeen Asset Management), Martin Scicluna (chairman RSA), and Xavier Rolet (CEO London Stock Exchange group).
FSTIB’s non-executive director will be Dame Amelia Fawcett, currently Treasury non-exec director, who will have independent input and be able to challenge the board’s decisions while making sure it operates consistently with the Treasury’s business plan.
The board will meet for the first time on 8 October and every quarter from then on.
It will be in charge of promoting external trade, attracting inward investment and lifting market access barriers for the UK’s financial services sector, predominantly through identifying trade and investment priorities and steering government and industry actions.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: “Ensuring the UK is able to compete in the global race is one of the government’s key priorities.
“That is why I have established the Financial Services Trade and Investment Board – to bring together the best that our public and private sectors have to offer to strengthen the UK’s performance in financial services at home and abroad.”
The financial services sector contributed £109bn to the UK economy in 2012 and accounted for more than 10% of total UK tax receipts.
The sector employed more than two million people in the UK, which the government said it was keen to accelerate as part of the UK’s broader recovery strategy.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: “Financial services are important for the whole of the UK, and particularly in Scotland. The sector can play an important role in the economic recovery, and this Board will help to ensure that it does.”
