The City of London Programme for practitioners, government
officials and regulators from the new EU Member States and
Accession Countries has been running for six years. The first
Programme in 2003 was dedicated to practitioners and regulators
from the Czech Republic. In 2004 the focus was Poland; in 2005 the
selected countries were Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; in 2006,
Hungary; in 2007, Slovenia and Slovakia; and Romania
in 2008. The Programme in 2009 will target Bulgaria.
The aim of the Programme is to share best practice in regulation
and related matters, and build personal and corporate links between
the City and figures of influence in the new Member States and
Accession Countries.
The Programme consists of a
tailor-made intensive induction course, lasting five days,
followed by a work placement in a firm or institution. The
participants spend 10 weeks in total in London. The placement
offers a unique chance for the participants to gain insight
into City practice and to give them the opportunity to work
within specific areas to enhance their knowledge of those
markets. In a number of cases that experience is gained by
working in Government and regulatory agencies, thus seeing how
the interface between government and financial services
business works in the UK.
Firms and institutions which have so far taken part in the
placement scheme include: AIG United Guaranty, Allen & Overy,
Bank of New York, Barclays Capital, Cameron McKenna, the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Eversheds, Goldman Sachs,
HSBC, JP Morgan, Norton Rose, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Schroders and
UBS Investment Bank as well as the Financial Services Authority, HM
Treasury, and HM Revenue & Customs.
Comments from some of the participants:
Razvan Orasanu, Economic Affairs Counsellor to the Prime
Minister of Romania
"The programme was the most comprehensive overview of the City
of London span of business that I was ever privy to. The most
important point of the programme was to make contacts. Overall, it
was a fantastic investment of two weeks - really
unique."
Daniel Sztanko, VAT Adviser, Deloitte
"My participation in the programme had a very positive
impact on my personal and professional skills. After my return to
Hungary the Hungarian Tax Authority made great use of my knowledge
obtained in London".
Polona Peterle, Director, Listing and Trading Department,
Ljubljana Stock Exchange
"It was one of the best experiences of my life. I got
better understanding and inside view on how the business looks like
in practise. I got a lot of new professional contacts. I’m very
glad that I could take part in this programme".
Malgorzata Feluch, DG MARKT, European Commission (former Deputy
Secretary, Polish Securities and Exchange Commission)
“First of all the Programme has broadened my knowledge
and given me practical insight into matters that have been only
theoretical to me so far. It has given me better understanding of
what European integration means for intermediaries, what challenges
they meet, what obstacles [they] come across. Another valuable
experience stems from the ability to see financial markets from a
different view point - not of a regulator but of a company
operating in that market and ability to see in practice what I so
far have known only theoretically”.
Tomas Pilar, Head of Compliance, Wood & Company, Czech
Republic
“Soon after my return to Wood & Company I started
to work in compliance. The advantage is the possibility to compare
how the regulations work in UK and in the Czech Republic. During my
stay in London I also had a chance to meet another 7 interesting
people from Czech Republic working in financial services business.
With some of them I’m still in close contact and it is much easier
to discuss and solve some problems with people who I know
personally”.