New York has held onto the top position yet again in the 33rd edition of the Global Financial Centres Index published by Z/Yen Group, in partnership with the China Development Institute (CDI). 

The biggest US financial centre has held the top spot since GFCI 24, which was published in September 2018.

London, Singapore, and Hong Kong remain in second, third, and fourth position, with San Francisco close behind. Chicago, Boston, and Seoul entered the top 10, displacing Paris, Shenzhen, and Beijing.

The latest rankings mean five US centres are now in the top 10. The Index authors suggest this reflects the strength of the US economy.

London's ability to retain second place in the Index suggests that it remains competitive, despite some predictions of a downturn, the authors added. Chinese centres fell back a little.

The average rating of centres in the index was close to the average in GFCI 32, just 0.06% lower. However, within this average, 31 out of the top 40 centres in the index fell in the ratings, while half of the centres in the bottom half of the index improved their rating, perhaps indicating a shift to more regional centres ahead, the report authors suggested.

Looking to Fintech, for which 114 centres were researched, the latest rankings see New York retain its top position, followed by San Francisco, London - one place to third - and Shenzhen - up three places to fourth.

Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and Shanghai continue to feature in the top 10, while Singapore and Washington enter the top 10 for FinTech, displacing Beijing and Hong Kong.

Milan, Luxembourg, Wuhan, Xi'an, and GIFT City-Gujarat each rose 10 or more rank places for Fintech, the authors note.

The latest edition of the Index is based on researching 130 financial centres. The number of centres in the main Index has increased to 120, with the inclusino of Minneapolis/St Paul. There are 10 'associate centres' awaiting potential inclusion in the main Index.

The GFCI 33 was compiled using 153 instrumental factors, with quantitative measures provided by third parties including the World Bank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, the OECD, and the UN. These factors were combined with 61,449 assessments of financial centres provided by 10,252 respondents to the GFCI online questionnaire.

To read the full report click here: https://www.longfinance.net/media/documents/GFCI_33_Report_2023.03.23_v1.1.pdf