Rule Britannia: London overtakes New York as the world's best financial centre

Britain's capital is the most competitive place to do business, topping every category measured by the Z/Yen Group this year

Canary Wharf at Night across the River Thames. JP Morgan's Canary Wharf deal is not everything the City hoped it would be
London's financial heart is more competitive than any other centre for the industry around the world Credit: Photo: Alamy

London is the most competitive financial centre in the world, overtaking New York and utterly dominating the rankings compiled by analysts at the Z/Yen Group this year.

The capital topped every single category in the index, with the best business environment, the most developed financial centre, the most impressive infrastructure, the best human capital and the top overall reputation.

City 2015 rank 2014 rank
London 1 2
New York 2 1
Hong Kong 3 3
Singapore 4 4
Tokyo 5 5
Seoul 6 7
Zurich 7 6
Toronto 8 11
San Francisco 9 8
Washington DC 10 12

New York is the second best financial centre, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.

London received a substantial boost from the Conservative victory in May’s general election, the Global Financial Centres Index report said. Labour, led at the time by Ed Miliband, was notably more hostile to business in the run-up to the vote.

The rejection of independence by Scottish voters was also a positive, with foreigners assessing the stability of London and Britain as a place to do business.

The depth and breadth of business activity also helped, with the strength of the professional services and insurance industries alongside banking giving London a boost in the rankings.

The victory of David Cameron (left) over Ed Miliband helped give the City of London a boost over New York, the study found

All the finance professionals surveyed ranked London very highly, indicating that it is a stable place to work.

Meanwhile, the biggest climber in the top 10 is Toronto, which moved up three spaces to be ranked eight in the table.

But the fastest mover in the top 20 is Dubai, which rocketed up seven spaces in the annual rankings to claim the 16th slot globally.

The plunging oil price caused major stock price falls in late 2014, but the emirate is still the Middle East’s premier financial centre and appears to be bouncing back after tumbling down the rankings last year.

The study found that respondents from Eastern Europe, North America and the Middle East were particularly favourable towards London, while those in Asia-Pacific, Western Europe and Latin America are less keen on the City's dominance.