LONDON (AP) — Britain's prime minister is trying to ease the concerns of bankers after she torpedoed one of their biggest demands during a speech on the country's departure from the European Union.

Prime Minister Theresa May told the BBC in an interview broadcast Sunday that both sides must recognize the "very important role" that Britain's financial services industry plays for the EU and the U.K.

On Friday, she rejected bankers' demands for a "passporting" agreement, which would let professionals work in the EU with their UK qualifications — and vice versa.

May says passporting would mean Britain would "have to abide by the rules that were being set elsewhere."

She says "what we are looking at ... is a new relationship on financial services based on this concept of mutual recognition."