Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decisive victory in last week's general
election provided little comfort to Britain's once world-beating financial services industry, which has been battered by
Brexit for more than three years.
While Johnson's triumph buoyed optimism that he would end the country's long-running political stalemate, it virtually guarantees the U.K. will leave the
European Union on Jan. 31 and starts the clock on efforts to negotiate a trade deal with the bloc by the end of 2020.
As prime minister prepares to outline his government's priorities Thursday in a speech to lawmakers, the financial industry is seeking assurances that service businesses like theirs won't lose the unfettered access to European markets that has underpinned growth for more than four decades.