New York pips London to emerge no. 1 financial centre

New York topped London for the first time in a ranking of financial centers, according to the Global Financial Centres Index compiled by London-based consultancy Z/Yen. Scandals including banks abusing their clients by selling unwanted insurance, manipulation of financial benchmarks and trading losses, have combined to damage London’s standing, just as plans for a referendum on EU membership cast doubt on the terms of its access to that market.

New centers are now catching up with the leaders, reducing the distance between the first and the 10th to 75 points from 117 three years ago, amid a shakeout in the Asian rankings. Leading centers such as Tokyo, Seoul and Shenzen are doing “significantly better” than weaker ones such as Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai, according to Z/Yen.


NOTE: New Delhi is included in the GFCI questionnaire but has yet to acquire sufficient assessments to be included in the Index. The index, which is updated every six months and is in its 15th edition, is compiled from replies to an online survey. It also uses external gauges including rankings for specific areas such as telecommunications. The index, which was first published in 2007, takes into account five broad areas including the business environment, finance, infrastructure, human capital and reputation