Lord Mayor says City must provide ‘financial resilience’ during UK recession
The City must help provide “financial resilience” to help the UK get through the incoming recession, according to the new Lord Mayor of London.
Nicholas Lyons, who is the 694th holder of the post, wrote in City PM today that “financial services industry must find ways to help people bridge this crisis by providing insurance premium waivers, affordable credit, and debt repayment deferrals”.
The Lord Mayor is a largely ceremonial one-year post within Canada Corporation, which is the Square Mile’s local authority.
Lyons’ call to City firms comes after the Bank of England recently predicted the UK will soon be plunged into a recession, which is set to last until the end of 2024.
The Lord Mayor said he would convene a summit of City firms soon to speak to them about making their products more widely available.
“I know that the economy is facing hard times, but it is imperative on us to act now,” he wrote.
“The private sector must take a lead in driving growth and investment so that the UK can bounce back strongly when these inflationary times are past. The City has the skills and the ambition to finance a brighter future for all.”
Lyons was elected by Corporation aldermen in September and had his first official engagement on Saturday – the Lord Mayor’s Show through the streets of the City.