Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their partnership with the World Bank on the position of the City of London as a global financial centre.

The UK works closely with the World Bank (WB) to strengthen the position of the City of London as a global financial centre. The World Bank Group has 70 staff members in London, which is one of three International Finance Corporation (IFC) Treasury Hubs.

IFC, WB's private sector arm, has an active committed investment portfolio of over $5.2 billion with UK businesses. The UK is the largest investor country for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), with an exposure of $7.4 billion.

The City is also a centre of innovation. For example, last month, with support from the UK, the IFC sold $500 million of assets on the London Stock Exchange in a breakthrough transaction which will create a new asset class for UK and international investors.