British exit from EU could jeopardise London’s position as major financial centre, says leading US boss

Dan Glaser, chief executive of the Marsh & McLennan Companies believes an EU exit would be a 'big mistake economically, politically and strategically'

Jamie Dunkley
Thursday 11 June 2015 08:12 BST
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The Union flag and the European Union flag fly outside Europe House,  in London
The Union flag and the European Union flag fly outside Europe House, in London

A British exit from the European Union would be a "big mistake" and could jeopardise London’s position as a major financial centre, a leading US boss has warned.

Dan Glaser is the chief executive of the professional services giant Marsh & McLennan Companies, which is headquartered in New York but employs almost 7,000 people in the UK.

He said: “When I worked in London back in the 1980s, people used to talk about whether London or Frankfurt was the financial capital of Europe. Now that battle has been won and it’s the joint financial capital of the world alongside New York.”

However, with a referendum on membership of the 28-bloc set for as early as next year, he added: “I absolutely think it would be a big mistake economically, politically and strategically for the UK to leave the EU.”

MMC’s divisions include insurance broker Marsh and consultancy Oliver Wyman.

Mr Glaser, who is in the UK to pick up the BritishAmerican Business Corporate Citizenship Award, also warned that cyber security is the “biggest manmade risk issue of our time”.

According to a recent Marsh report, 81 per cent of large businesses in the UK and 60 per cent of small businesses suffered a cyber-security breach in the last year, while the average cost of breaches to business has nearly doubled since 2013.

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