Over 50 senior representatives of the British and Swiss financial services industries met in Zurich yesterday for the second Swiss – City of London Financial Round Table hosted this year by the Swiss Bankers Association. The discussion focused on the merits of principles-based regulation as opposed to rules-based regulation for the financial services industries. Head of the Swiss delegation and chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association, Pierre Mirabaud said: “The discussions and exchange of professional experiences between both sides clearly confirmed the advantages of a principles-based approach to financial markets regulation and highlighted the disadvantages of the bureaucratic, box-ticking mentality generated by the inflexibility of a strictly rules-based approach”. Speaking for the British delegation, Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers Association, said: “The many differences between regulators across Europe are better addressed through meetings such as these than through changes to the law or to rules. And for the industry, to operate in a competitive market place under regulatory principles rather than detailed rules will bring better results for customers and the industry alike”. The meeting concluded with the publication of a Joint Declaration and an agreement to continue to cooperate and promote principles-based regulation. The two organisations have agreed to encourage the respective regulators to cooperate even more closely and to work with them to understand any bilateral regulatory issues for banks doing business between the UK and Switzerland.