Big Apple tops Square Mile as world’s top finance centre

New York remains the world’s leading financial centre, according to a global league table, with second-placed ­London facing stiff competition from Singapore and Hong Kong.

London, which is facing criticism over its post-Brexit competitiveness and for losing lucrative listings – including UK-based chip designer Arm, which chose New York – narrowed the US financial centre’s lead, which it has held since 2018.

New York topped the Global Financial Centres Index with 763 points, based on surveys of 147 factors covering 121 centres provided by third parties, including the World Bank and the United Nations.

London scored 744 points, but Singapore closed the gap on it to only two points behind. Hong Kong was in fourth, three points behind London.

“US centres performed well, with five financial centres in the top 10, reflecting the strength of the US economy,” the survey said. New York also retained its lead in separate fintech rankings, followed by London, which overtook San Francisco.

David Schwimmer, the head of the London Stock Exchange Group, has said news of London’s decline as an international finance centre is “overplayed”. “London is a fantastic international financial centre,” he said.

The Financial Conduct Authority is also reviewing its rules in a bid to attract more companies to list shares on UK stock markets following a flurry of companies opting to list elsewhere in the world.

The financial centres’ standing was ranked as it was revealed that the value of mergers and acquisition deals made with UK involvement has fallen to a 14-year low in 2023.

Such deals have had a value of £144.7bn in the year to date, down 45 per cent on last year, according to LSEG Deals Intelligence.

The value is the lowest year-to-date total since 2009, which came during the turmoil of the global financial crisis.