London breezes past European rivals to retain finance hub crown

London has breezed past its Continental rivals to retain the title of Europe’s top financial hub, research shared exclusively with Morning Wire today shows.

The capital’s deep highly-skilled talent pool helped drive it to the top of the European rankings in the 32nd edition of Z/Yen’s global financial centres index (GFCI).

The Square Mile has pipped Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt in most editions of the index since Brexit.

Z/Yen’s top 20 global finance centres

London’s ongoing strength suggests the hit to its financial services sector from the UK leaving the European Union has not been as severe as feared.

Its closest rival on the Continent was Paris, finishing tenth. Amsterdam, a beneficiary of Brexit due a large chunk of clearing activity flowing from London to the Dutch capital, came 19th. 

Germany’s finance centre, Frankfurt, placed 18th.

New York topped the overall table, with the capital coming second.

“New York has held the top position among global financial centres for four years,” professor Michael Mainelli, chairman of Z/Yen, said.

“London’s second position looks secure but needs a significant global change to once again challenge for the top place. Overall, we see the return of confidence in the role of financial centres that we highlighted in GFCI 31, despite the continuing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine,” he added.

Moscow tumbled 22 places, driven by western sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine freezing Russia out of the global finance community.

Malta climbed 27 places, the biggest jump of any city or country included in Z/Yen’s GFCI.