Financial services firms employ 42,000 people in Leeds
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Leeds will keep growing as a financial services centre for another 10 years, experts in the city are predicting.
Analysts working for the Yorkshire Forward development agency and the Leeds Financial Services Initiative make the claim in a new report.
They say that greater public-private sector collaboration could see the city become the UK's largest financial services centre outside London by 2020.
The experts dismiss recent concerns that the sector is "faltering".
Commuting workforce
Employment in financial and similar services increased by 22% between 1995-97 and 2000-02, well above national rates, explained a Yorkshire Forward spokesman.
More than 42,000 work in the sector in Leeds and more than 80,000 in the region, he added, with commuters accounting for a quarter of the workforce.
The report also includes interviews with managers in the biggest firms, such as First Direct, KPMG, the Leeds and Holbeck Building Society and the Bank of England.
Leeds Financial Services Initiative chief executive John Ansbro said: "The report highlights Leeds' tremendous success in financial services and sends a positive message to investors that growth is likely to continue.
"It will be very valuable in helping to formulate policy for the sector and the city.
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