| March 19 12:54pm | Permalink
whenever there is no common sense or business sense, they talk about "symbolism". it's never enough for these shameless characters. they cry before being hit and roll in the dirt begging for mercy only to get up stronger, and richer without a single scar.for all the talk the bankers are flocking to other cities, they grumble they need to share the parking spaces in W1C with other mortals, but are all alive and kicking.
the city is here to stay, the rest of london should get more of its wealth. the lackeys have done a good job so far defending their masters sadly...
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March 19, 2012 12:00 am
London stays top of finance league
London has retained its position as the leading global financial centre in the face of regulatory upheaval, sluggish economic conditions and turmoil in the eurozone, research has found.
The rapid rise of mainland Chinese cities as financial services hubs in recent years has also been checked, according to a survey of 1,700 finance professionals.
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London, New York and Hong Kong keep their place at the head of the Global Financial Centres Index by think-tank Z/Yen Group, with London slightly ahead of the other two cities.
However, ratings for Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen all declined.
The findings will offer a measure of reassurance over London’s enduring competitiveness amid worries over the impact of new domestic and European Union regulations as well as sporadic threats from some big UK-based institutions to move their headquarters elsewhere.
The survey ranks 77 financial centres according to factors such as market access, infrastructure and competitiveness along with other variables designed to track the changing priorities of finance professionals.
Mark Yeandle, of Z/Yen, said the dip in the ranking of mainland Chinese cities raised questions over whether they were being held back by Beijing’s restrictions on trading in the renminbi.
“The respondents are becoming acutely aware of the limitations imposed by currency restrictions and for that reason they would rather deal with places like Hong Kong and Singapore than mainland Chinese centres,” he said, adding that the region would however continue to grow in importance in the long term.
The finding comes after George Osborne, chancellor, signed a deal with Hong Kong in January aimed at giving London a greater role as an offshore centre in renminbi trading. The Treasury believes the City is a natural locus for expanding trade in the currency beyond Hong Kong and mainland China.
The GFCI survey, which was launched in 2007, has been led by London since its inception but Asian centres have gradually closed the gap with the leaders.
“The four big centres – London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore – are the axis that will remain globally dominant,” said Stuart Fraser, the City of London Corporation’s policy committee chairman.
Explaining London’s predominance, he said: “London slipped a little at the height of the rhetoric over the financial crisis. There was pessimism over the future of the City, therefore now we are seeing a bit of a rebound. Its strengths are clear – breadth and depth of offering, its openness to everybody and a hugely established agglomeration.”
In depth
London has railed against the raft of recent regulations from the European Union and the UK Government as it fights to maintain its reputation as a global financial hub
The eurozone crisis has hit confidence in cities in weaker economies such as Dublin, Milan, Madrid, Lisbon and Athens, which slipped in the rankings for the second consecutive period. However, Frankfurt and Paris have both risen, by two and three places respectively.
The survey also tackled recent developments such as the threat of a financial transactions tax in the eurozone and the splitting of retail and investment banking by regulators. Asked what impact an FTT would have on their financial centre, 73 per cent of respondents said it would reduce its competitiveness.
However, the majority were more relaxed about the splitting of banks, with 57 per cent saying forced separation in their centre would have no impact on competitiveness – although a number questioned the policy’s effectiveness.
Fears over regulation have been replaced in the minds of finance professionals by worries over personal taxation.
Asked what factor was most important for competitiveness, respondents prioritised tax over regulation – a reversal of previous findings. The 50 per cent higher rate of tax in Britain is unpopular in the City and looks set to be reduced by Mr Osborne in Wednesday’s Budget.
“Personal tax is an issue [for finance workers] and the 50p rate is symbolic of it. Reducing it would send the message that the coalition is aware of the competitiveness issue,” Mr Fraser said.
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