UK's Hammond opposes easing rules to boost finance after Brexit

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will remain a pre-eminent global financial centre after Brexit with an agile, but not lax, system of financial regulation, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Tuesday.

"I reject the idea that laxer regulation makes a jurisdiction more attractive," Hammond told a conference in London.

Some lawmakers have called for regulators to make it a formal objective to keep London competitive as a global financial centre after Britain leaves the European Union next March.

Britain's banks face the prospect of losing "passporting" rights - or unfettered access to the European Union's single market - after Brexit.

But Hammond said it was not the EU passport that built London as a global financial centre but a combination of the English language, and Britain's legal system, world class universities and technology.

He said financial regulation would remain a key discriminator between financial centres.

Britain will have a regime that is safe, transparent, predictable, and agile enough to keep abreast of changes in business models, Hammond added.

Uncertainty increased for British businesses this week when a vote in parliament on Britain's Brexit divorce deal was postponed after Prime Minister Theresa May said the deal was likely to be voted down.

Hammond said the deal on the table was the best for the British economy and could enable Britain to move on from the divisive Brexit debate.

It would also allow "hugely beneficial" financial services trade between the EU and Britain to continue to flourish, he said.

(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Marc Jones)