London retains second spot in global financial centre survey

New York maintained its top position in the latest rankings of global financial centers released by Z/Yen Group on Thursday (23), with London and Singapore also unchanged in second and third place, respectively.

The US city had taken over the top spot from London in September 2018, two years after the UK voted to exit the European Union.

Despite predictions that Brexit could have a severe impact on London's ranking, it has held onto its second place position since then.

"New York retains a significant first position, and five other US centres are in the top 10," Z/Yen chairman Michael Mainelli said in a statement.

Finance industry officials worried about London's global reputation as a financial centre after the Bank of England had to step in last September to buy government bonds to stop a rout in prices.

Markets had been unnerved by a government announcement of unfunded tax cuts.

"London has maintained its position, showing its strengths in finance, despite Brexit and other politically induced uncertainties," Mainelli said.

The twice-yearly survey rates 120 financial centres combining 61,449 assessments from 10,252 financial professionals with quantitative data.

New York retains its leading position in the Fintech ranking, followed by San Francisco, with London moving up one place to third, while Shenzhen rose three places to fourth, Z/Yen said.

(Reuters)