London closing in on New York despite bruising few months for the City, report suggests
London is closing in on New York as a financial centre despite a bruising few months in which firms have ditched the City for the Big Apple, a new survey has suggested.
New York held onto its position as the top global financial centre in the world for a fifth straight year but London gained ground on its rival as its rating bumped up 13 points, according to the Global Financial Centres Index.
The survey, out today, ranks cities globally on areas like regulation, skills depth and availability of technology.
London’s rating climbed 13 points to 744 while New York bumped up three points to 763.
The ratings run counter to what has been regarded as a series of body blows for the Square Mile over the past year as firms snub the capital and swap their listings for New York.
City grandees and officials have been scrambling to overhaul the market and strip back rules in a bid to tempt more firms to come to market.
Despite the economic volatility that has rocked markets over the past year, ZYen said all financial centres had actually ticked up in terms of their ratings.
“Confidence in international financial centres remains strong. Virtually all the centres we track improved their rating in GFCI 34,” said Professor Michael Mainelli, chairman of Z/Yen.
“Skills and talent development is vital for financial centres, increasingly so with new skills required in areas such as AI and ethics.
“Combining continuing professional development a with formal tertiary education is a key strategy to ensure that the financial sector workforce is fit for the future.”
The average rating of centres in the index rose 3.63 per cent compared with GFCI 33, with all but two centres improving in the ratings.
US cities dominated the ranking with five US centres in the top 10. Seven western European centres feature in the top 20 meanwhile, with all but Paris improving their rating, with the average rating for the region 3.17 per cent higher than in the previous report.