Taxes and regulation 'exile talent from City'

The City of London is finding it harder to attract top financial-services talent because of higher taxes and stiffer regulation, according to Peter Sands, the chief executive of Standard Chartered.

Mr Sands argued at the weekend that London was now less attractive than other markets, especially Asia. "The problem in the UK context is that this is a global market for talent and we are seeing intense competition for talent in our markets, particularly in places like Asia," he said.

The issue is not a specific problem for Standard Chartered, which employs just 2,000 of its 85,000 workers in the UK – the majority of its staff work in emerging-market economies.

Lord Davies, the former Standard Chartered chairman, was the trade minister in the previous government, which introduced the new upper rate of income tax.

Last week, Standard Chartered announced plans for a £3.3bn rights issue to help the bank to comply with the new capital requirements stipulated by Basel III.