Global Financial Centres Index
The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) ranks the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 assessments from an online questionnaire and over 100 indices from organisations such as the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Economist Intelligence Unit.[1] It was first published in March 2007. It has been jointly published twice per year by the London-based think tank Z/Yen and the China Development Institute since 2015.[2] It is widely quoted as a top source for ranking financial centres.[3][4][5]
GFCI 37 (March 2025)
The 37th edition of the GFCI was published in March 2025.[6]
| Rank | Centre | Rating | Change in rank | Change in rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | 769 | 6 | |
| 2 | London | 762 | 12 | |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 760 | 11 | |
| 4 | Singapore | 750 | 3 | |
| 5 | San Francisco | 749 | 7 | |
| 6 | Chicago | 746 | 6 | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 745 | 6 | |
| 8 | Shanghai | 744 | 6 | |
| 9 | Shenzhen | 743 | 11 | |
| 10 | Seoul | 742 | 1 | 13 |
| 11 | Frankfurt | 741 | 1 | 11 |
| 12 | Dubai | 740 | 4 | 17 |
| 13 | Washington, D.C. | 739 | 1 | 11 |
| 14 | Dublin | 738 | 13 | |
| 15 | Geneva | 737 | 2 | 11 |
| 16 | Luxembourg | 736 | 3 | 16 |
| 17 | Paris | 730 | 2 | 11 |
| 18 | Amsterdam | 734 | 9 | 22 |
| 19 | Boston | 733 | 3 | 16 |
| 20 | Beijing | 732 | 2 | 11 |
Financial centre profiles (GFCI 36, September 2024)
The latest report ranked 120 international financial centres into the following matrix:
An asterisk (*) denotes centres that have moved between categories between GFCI 35 and GFCI 36.
Top 15 centres by area of competitiveness
This is run for five separate areas of competitiveness to assess how financial centres perform in each of the areas.[7]
| Level | Business environment | Human capital | Infrastructure | Financial sector development | Reputational and general |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | New York City | New York City | New York City | New York City |
| 2 | Singapore | London | Singapore | Singapore | London |
| 3 | London | Hong Kong | London | Shanghai | Singapore |
| 4 | Hong Kong | Singapore | Hong Kong | London | Hong Kong |
| 5 | Shanghai | San Francisco | Seoul | San Francisco | San Francisco |
| 6 | San Francisco | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Shanghai |
| 7 | Chicago | Chicago | Shenzhen | Chicago | Chicago |
| 8 | Los Angeles | Washington, D.C. | San Francisco | Hong Kong | Los Angeles |
| 9 | Seoul | Shanghai | Chicago | Beijing | Tokyo |
| 10 | Geneva | Tokyo | Shanghai | Washington, D.C. | Dublin |
| 11 | Beijing | Paris | Frankfurt | Shenzhen | Beijing |
| 12 | San Diego | Seoul | Beijing | Seoul | Dubai |
| 13 | Frankfurt | Zurich | Luxembourg | Geneva | Boston |
| 14 | Toronto | Dublin | Dubai | San Diego | Shenzhen |
| 15 | Shenzhen | San Diego | Washington, D.C. | Boston | Frankfurt |
Key areas
The business environment factors aggregate and value the regulation, tax rates, levels of corruption, economic freedom and how difficult in general it is to do business. To measure regulation an online questionnaire has been used.
The human capital factors summarize the availability of a skilled workforce, the flexibility of the labour market, the quality of the business education and the skill-set of the workforce, and quality of life.
The infrastructure factors account for the price and availability of office space at the location, as well as public transport.
The financial sector development factors assess the volume and value of trading in capital markets and other financial markets, the cluster effect of the number of different financial service companies at the location, and employment and economic output indicators.
Reputational and general considers more subjective aspects such as innovation, brand appeal, cultural diversity and competitive positioning.
Top 15 centres by industry sector
The index provides sub-rankings in the main areas of financial services – banking, investment management, insurance, professional services, government and regulation, finance, fintech, and trading.[7]
References
- ^ Jones, Huw (24 March 2022). "New York widens lead over London in top finance centres index". Reuters. Archived from the original on Oct 8, 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
Rankings are based on surveys and 150 factors, with quantitative measures from the World Bank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, the OECD and United Nations.
- ^ Yeandle, Mark (September 2016). "The Global Financial Centres Index 20". Long Finance. Archived from the original on Jul 18, 2023.
- ^ Yoshio Okubo (October 2014). "Comparison of Global Financial Center" (PDF). Harvard Law School, Program on International Financial Systems, Japan-U.S. Symposium. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ Glover, John (17 March 2014). "New York Strips London of Mantle as World's Top Financial Center". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on Jun 9, 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ Pooler, Michael (1 October 2014). "New York and London vie for crown of world's top financial centre". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2 Oct 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ a b "GFCI 37 Rank - Long Finance". www.longfinance.net. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
- ^ a b c "GFCI 36 Rank - Long Finance". www.longfinance.net. Retrieved 2024-09-24.