Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber, Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President Seth W. Pinsky and Small Business Services Commissioner Robert W. Walsh announced yesterday 11 initiatives to help support New York City's financial services sector and grow as a global center for business innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Mayor made the announcement at 160 Varick Street, the site of the first City-sponsored business incubator, which will provide ready-to-use office space for about 100 entrepreneurs.

"The financial services meltdown is a global problem, not one that any city or even nation can solve on its own," said Mayor Bloomberg. "And although we can't predict exactly what its revival will look like, we're confident the sector will come back....New York City's greatest strength has always been and will continue to be the innovation, drive and work ethic of New Yorkers."

The press release announcing the new initiatives noted that in 2007, "capital markets made up nine percent of the nation's 6 million financial services jobs but 39 percent of New York City's 339,000 financial services jobs" and that "the City expects that capital markets will account for 57 percent of the total financial services job losses in New York City."

NYCEDC President Pinsky said that venture capital "has traditionally been under represented" in the city and the incentives are intended to grow the city's "entrepreneurial sector to ensure that the talent coming out of financial services firms gets harnessed here, rather than elsewhere."

The initiatives are to grow the city venture capital sector; invest $3 million to create several angel funds totaling between $9 and $10 million to make angel investments of $20,000 to $250,000 to New York City-based start-up companies; the City will market and conduct an annual business plan competition with top business and engineering schools throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America; the City will create and manage a website that will include a calendar of seminars, events, and other resources to help entrepreneurs; Mayor Bloomberg announced the launch of FastTrac, a business training program to help emerging entrepreneurs start new businesses and help existing entrepreneurial business owners run their businesses; the City and State will announce details about more than $30 million in Federal incentives to attract new financial services firms and institutions to Lower Manhattan, the traditional heart of the industry in the City; The City will work with established and developing exchanges like the New York Mercantile Exchange's Green Exchange and SecondMarket to help them capture business in growing areas, like carbon credits and other emerging asset classes; the City will conduct an international recruitment campaign focused on attracting commercial banks and insurance companies headquartered in China, India and other developing economies; the Mayor announced that the City will create an ongoing Financial Services Advisory Committee to be led by Deputy Mayor Lieber that will meet regularly through 2009 to maintain a dialogue between City Hall and the industry; Mayor Bloomberg asked Deputy Mayor Lieber and EDC President Pinsky to work with the Financial Services Advisory Committee to understand New York City's most pressing regulatory needs and report back to him and Senator Schumer by the end of March.

Mayor Bloomberg announced the launch of JumpStart NYC, a free job training and placement pilot program designed for workers laid off from the financial services sector looking for opportunities within New York City's network of venture capital portfolio businesses.