Net exports of the UK financial sector reached a new record of £19.0bn in 2004, £1.5bn higher than the previous year’s £17.5bn, according to the new edition of IFSL’s annual brief UK Financial Sector Net Exports 2005.
Net exports have risen every year for the past ten years and are now nearly three times the 1994 total of £6.4bn. The insurance industry was the largest single contributor in 2004, with net exports of £6.4bn, followed by securities dealing and banking, both £3.7bn, and fund managers £1.4bn. A buoyant shipping industry pushed up freight rates so net exports of shipbrokers at the Baltic Exchange increased by 45% to £551m.
Over and above these financial sector export earnings, the professional services-legal services, management consultancy and accounting-also generated net exports of £3.0bn in 2004.
The US is the biggest single market for UK financial services, generating a trade surplus of £5.2bn in 2003. The UK’s trade surplus in financial services with the EU as a whole amounted to £4.8bn, including positive balances of £1.1bn with France and £895m with Germany.
Duncan McKenzie, Director of Economics at IFSL, said “The UK trade surplus in financial services is more than double that of any other country, with London’s status as an international financial centre a substantial and continuing influence.”