London loses crown as world’s top financial hub

London has lost its place at the top of a long-running ranking of global financial centres, with New York overtaking the UK capital for the first time in three years as uncertainty over Brexit continues. The UK capital came second to New York in the 24th edition of think tank Z/Yen’s Global Financial Centres Index after topping the table consistently since 2015. The report noted, however, that New York’s lead “is only two points on a scale of 1,000”. The close competition between the two cities was further highlighted by Z/Yen chairman Michael Mainelli, who wrote in the report that London will “probably” overtake New York again.

Behind New York and London, the highest placing cities are Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. The rest of the top 10 comprises Tokyo, Sydney, Beijing, Zurich and Frankfurt. Z/Yen launched its index in 2007, then ranking just four financial centres: London, New York, Paris and Frankfurt. Over the years since, 96 other cities have been added to the league table, analysed using data from the World Bank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, the OECD and the United Nations as well as responses to an online questionnaire.

In his preface to the index, Mainelli urged readers not to read too much into the tussle at the top of the ranking. “Far too much attention is focused on the top centres and the blow-by-blow rankings they have,” he wrote. “The long-term trend since our first published edition in 2007 has been the consistent and persistent rise of Asian centres while the press and pundits focus on brief headlines about London and New York City.” In Europe, Zurich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Vienna and Milan all moved up the rankings. “These centres may be the main beneficiaries of the uncertainty caused by Brexit,” the report read. Those cities are among the financial hubs that have been expected to attract businesses looking for new bases on the continent after the UK leaves the European Union.

MarketWatch