Theresa May has canvassed leading Wall Street banks over how Britain should structure its departure from the EU to reassure them that Brexit will not damage their UK business.

Mrs May met “mostly” chief executives from the finance sector along with figures from the technology and entertainment sectors at the mid-town residence of the British consul-general in New York on Monday.

The prime minister held two gatherings: a roundtable discussion with big investors in the UK including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, IBM, and Amazon. She then hosted a reception for about 60 US executives, as well as British businesses that invest in the US.

The events, which are her first New York meetings with US companies and investors since she took office, are a listening exercise for Mrs May and for the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, who is accompanying her.

They want to hear the views of business leaders and investors on what Britain’s priorities should be in Brexit negotiations with the EU, which Downing Street has signalled are likely to begin next year.

Mrs May said before the meetings she would “be talking about how we can encourage trade and investment” between the UK and the US, including “talking to them and hearing from them about what the issues are that they want us to address” in the Brexit negotiations.

The events would “give them the chance to talk about their concerns,” her spokeswoman said.

The prime minister is expected to trigger Article 50, the formal start of the negotiating period, early in the new year.

Mrs May is in the US to attend the UN General Assembly, where she will announce initiatives to combat human trafficking and modern-day slavery, and take part in discussions among global leaders about migration, the Syria crisis and aviation security. She will address the gathering on Tuesday.

She will also meet various world leaders for the first time.

Her trip coincides wtih a growing debate over whether Britain should make a “hard” or “soft” exit from the EU. The Treasury is reportedly pushing for a so-called “soft Brexit”, which would see Britain keep its trade access to European markets, particularly for the financial services industry, but would probably entail looser immigration restrictions.

The cabinet’s three Brexit ministers, however — Liam Fox, David Davis and Boris Johnson — want “a clean break”, one official told the Financial Times on Sunday.

International financial businesses which have based their European headquarters in London are concerned that a stringent approach to migration would hit their access to other EU markets through the use of passporting.