TheCityUK is a private-sector membership body and industry advocacy group promoting the financial and related professional services industry of the United Kingdom (UK). TheCityUK is often referred to as the industry's "most powerful" or "most prominent" lobbyists with close links to the UK Government and to policymakers in Brussels and Washington. Although 'The City' in the UK usually refers to the City of London, one of the world's foremost financial centres, the organisation also represents the industry throughout the UK. As a business-led body, TheCityUK is distinct from the City of London Corporation which is the local government administrative body for the district of London which contains the traditional heart of the city's financial services industry, sometimes referred to as the Square-Mile. The organisation focuses on three main areas: Overseas promotion: it promotes the UK overseas as a world-class centre for financial and related professional services. Domestic promotion: it encourages greater understanding of, and support for, the financial services industry in the UK. Regulation and trade: it supports industry efforts to work with government and regulators, to ensure that regulatory developments and trade policy foster free and open markets for the UK's financial services industry. TheCityUK also conducts primary research among members, businesses and consumers about relevant financial and professional services issues and produces a range of authoritative economic reports on industry sectors, products, and key financial indicators. History In June 2008, the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, launched the Review of the Competitiveness of London’s Financial Centre and asked its authors to make clear recommendations on how the capital could best sustain and strengthen its reputation as the “global capital of finance”. A recommendation of this review was the formation of a new body to bring together existing overlapping financial and related professional services groups. This body would be tasked with promoting London’s financial services sector overseas, anticipating strategically important trends and highlighting to the domestic audience the industry’s contribution to the UK. In 2009 a second and separate report from a group of industry representatives chaired by then UK Chancellor, Alistair Darling, and former Citigroup chairman, Sir Winfried Bischoff, recommended the creation of a new independent body to ‘promote the industry at home and overseas’. The report also recommended the group should have a ‘formal link’ to a forum, led by government, which would focus on strategic issues relating to the financial industry. Based on this recommendation