London and New York rank joint first as top financial centers, according to…London
“The UK remains one of the most open and global financial centres with better access to international markets than the US, France, or Japan. But our competitive advantage is at risk.”
London and New York rank joint first as leading financial centers globally, according to…the City of London Corporation’s latest report “Our Global Offer to Business: London and the UK’s Competitive Strengths in Support of Growth, benchmarks the performance of the world’s leading financial centres across 95 metrics”.
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic center of London, and the location of much of the United Kingdom’s financial sector.
London no longer the clear world leader
According to the report, London continued to perform strongly across all key dimensions, including innovation, the reach of financial activity, resilience and business infrastructure, talent and skills, and regulation.
However, the study notes that London is no longer the clear leader as New York increased its score by 2 points to equal London (up by 1 point) with 60 points.
After London and New York, the rank would put Singapore in third (51 points), Frankfurt in fourth (46 points), Paris in fifth (43 points), and Tokyo in sixth (35 points).
Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: “The UK remains one of the most open and global financial centres with better access to international markets than the US, France, or Japan. But our competitive advantage is at risk. A long-term plan to stimulate growth in the financial and professional services sector is needed. This is why we have launched, Finance For Growth, a new joint initiative with leading industry figures across the financial and professional services sector to put together a roadmap to reinforce and renew the UK’s role as a global financial center.”
Finance for Growth, a recently joint initiative launched with support from financial leaders from Lloyd’s, Schroders, JP Morgan, EY, KPMG, Barclays, Glasswall and CIPL, was set up to maintain London internationally competitive over the next decade. It will focus on four fundamental areas – tech and innovation, sustainable finance, competitive marketplace and international trade. The group is expected to deliver actionable recommendations in Q3 2023.
Report calls UK government to make it more attractive for investment and talent
Although the UK continues to build on its long-standing strengths, as the world’s largest centre for international debt issuance, commercial (re)insurance, and foreign exchange trading, and the second largest asset management centre, the report noted that London is falling behind in terms of the number of international companies listed in London as fewer international companies are choosing to list in London, despite changes to listing rules.
The report calls the UK Government to continue to look at how defined contribution funds can be better utilized to support high-growth industries to start, stay, and scale in the UK.
The study also suggested that the government makes the UK an even more attractive place for finance and investment, as well as capable of attracting the world’s top talent (over 40% of the City of London’s workforce comes from overseas).
