In his annual Mansion House speech, Chancellor Philip Hammond said the new financial services skills taskforce will be chaired by Mark Hoban, former City minister.

In his speech, the Chancellor said: ‘…we will need to ensure that – in addition to access to international talent – the UK has a long-term pipeline of domestic skills to meet this transformation.

‘To harness the brightest young minds of today to meet the needs of the financial sector of the future.’

Mark Hoban said: ‘The future of this industry is dependent on its ability to attract and retain the best people. By assessing now what skills are needed for the future we can put in place the right measures today to make sure our education system can deliver the skills we need tomorrow.’

The Treasury said the terms of reference and meeting dates of the taskforce will be determined by the chair and secretariat ‘in due course’.

Hammond told his audience the government will also fund a new Green Finance Institute, together with the City of London Corporation, to champion sustainable finance in the UK and abroad. The aim is to provide what he called a ‘one-stop-shop for world-leading climate science, and for capital’.

The Chancellor said: ‘The UK is already leading the charge in this market – with nearly 80 green bonds raising more than $24 billion across seven currencies.

‘But if we are collectively to meet our global climate goals, we will need to mobilise $90 trillion by 2030.

‘And it is my ambition that the UK leads the world in financing this investment.’

Report by Pat Sweet