City of a Thousand Trades

Famed for its metal and gun-making, fine jewellery and brass buttons, Birmingham was a pioneer in the Industrial Revolution; a manufacturing and engineering hub for the country and the world. 

Not losing its industrial spirit, Birmingham continues to be a nexus for business and trade. In a 2016 report, Manufacturing accounted for 13% of local GVA, Distribution took 14% and Business and Professional Services accounted for 24%. 

Banking and insurance services are now very strong in this region, contributing to around 50% of the total value of the Professional and Financial Services industry in Birmingham, worth £16 billion and the largest in the UK. Arguably, Birmingham is the second largest financial network outside of London in the UK. Over 200,000 people across 23,000 companies are employed in the local industry; HSBC’s recent relocation of its retail banking head office; PwC’s presence and endorsement of the region as one of the UK’s leading financial service centres; these are some of the reasons why Birmingham is the place to discuss finance. 

One of the key characteristics of this region is that the banking and insurance sector is working closely with the SMEs and the private economy. For example, Finance Birmingham is providing SMEs around England with affordable and flexible financing to support potential future growth and development. 

Historically, Birmingham was the birthplace of private steam-powered mints which provided small-value currency to the workers for them to make a living. Those stories are largely unknown in the modern days and are barely mentioned in the age of cryptocurrency. However, Birmingham should be proud as it pioneered huge monetary disruptions 300 years before London and all the other global FinTech hubs.  

As technology advances, FinTech is being prioritised by the UK government and the entire financial industry in the UK. However, FinTech has different focuses by nature of geography and industry. In Birmingham, a good angle to look at FinTech might be from the accessibility of finance. This is for two reasons, firstly, Birmingham is one of the most entrepreneurial cities in the UK. Financial services should look at SMEs particularly. Secondly, Birmingham has a trade surplus in many countries. It is also the only region in the UK that maintains a trade surplus with China. 

For these reasons, we are proud to advocate that Birmingham should play a greater and more important role in FinTech in the post-Brexit age.