Protecting the financial sector post-Brexit is a "high priority" for the government, says Hammond

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond dismissed speculation that the British government is turning its back on the financial sector in the UK as it prepares to leave the EU.

“The financial-services sector is a very important part of the U.K. economy,” Hammond said. “We place a very high priority on getting the right solution for the U.K. financial sector.”

In a Bloomberg interview on Thursday, during his first trip to New York’s Wall Street as finance minister, Hammond said Prime Minister Theresa May’s government does not distinguish between the so-called “hard” and “soft” Brexit and is rather focusing on getting the “right” Brexit that is mutually beneficial for both the UK and Europe.

Bankers are worried that, with May clamping down on migration, the government will lose passporting rights that allow them to operate in the EU. Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced a series of measures this week that were aimed at making it harder to employ overseas workers.

The same day, Germany’s Prime Minister Angela Merkel said the EU would not grant Britain full access to the EU’s internal market if London did not accept the bloc’s free movement of people.

Hammond said the European Central Bank have tried in the past to move euro denominated clearing to within the EU and have failed due to not having the legal rights to do so. He feels that if the ECB try their hand at this again post-Brexit, the legal process would be long winded.

“It’s by no means clear to me that the rules of the single market, even after Britain has left, would permit the ECB to require euro-denominated instruments to be cleared inside the euro zone,” Hammond said.

Despite Hammond’s efforts to soothe concerns about Brexit during his visit, the pound hit another 31-year low on Thursday, falling 0.79% to $1.2648.

Theresa May has recently announced that negotiations will be under way by March 2017