When the Queen visited the US state of Virginia this year, she marked the quadricentennial of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. The visit rekindled an old connection between the City and the US, as the settlement was established thanks to financial backing from bankers in the Square Mile.

While London and New York have since then more often than not competed with each other as financial centres to attract international business, this year that may be changing. The two have begun a dialogue to help the world's largest financial groups do business more efficiently in both places. For the first time, regulators and the private sector are moving in tandem to reduce barriers to cross-border finance.