Swiss bankers are seeking to forge an alliance with London in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

In a sign that the rest of the world wants to carry on doing business with the UK following Brexit, the Swiss Bankers Association is hoping to build a coalition with other international financial centres outside the EU.

The group has proposed building a so-called F4 alliance that would see Switzerland, London, Hong Kong and Singapore pool resources to negotiate access to other markets including the EU.

The eurozone is on course for an economic slowdown in the wake of Britain's decision to leave the European Union, according to the International Monetary Fund

‘The Swiss Bankers Association is suggesting an alliance to other financial centres to better coordinate worldwide in areas such as regulation and market access,’ a SBA spokesman said. ‘Coordinating our efforts would make it easier and quicker to discuss issues and come to solutions over challenges with the EU.’

Banks based in Britain have been able to sell financial services freely across the EU under the bloc’s ‘passporting’ system.

But it is feared that such unfettered access could be lost after last month’s vote to leave the EU.

Paris and Frankfurt are known to want to take advantage of Brexit by eating away at London’s dominance – although it is doubtful they will ever be able to match London’s status as a global financial powerhouse.

It is also likely that the EU will continue to rely heavily on London and Switzerland to finance future economic growth.

Patrick Odier, chairman of the SBA, said the UK and Switzerland together ‘would be even more important to contributing to the development of a European capital market and financing European industry than they were separately before’.

Figures yesterday showed the recovery is in far better shape than feared with industry clocking up its fastest rate of growth for six years

George Osborne and a host of Wall Street banking giants this week issued a resounding vote of confidence in the City of London.

In a joint statement with the Chancellor, investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan pledged to ensure London remains the world’ s dominant financial centre when it leaves the EU.

The signatories, which also included top executives at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and British emerging markets lender Standard Chartered, were effusive in their praise for the UK – citing its ‘brilliant workforce’, ‘stable legal system’, ‘world class regulators’, and ‘deep liquid capital markets unmatched anywhere else in Europe’.

They added that London has in recent years ‘established itself as a global hub for renminbi, rupee, Islamic finance and green finance.’