New York remains top financial centre, London clings to second place

New York has easily remained the world's top financial centre with London still second and gaining some ground, but also facing a tougher fight with Singapore and Hong Kong, the Global Financial Centres index showed on Thursday.

New York, in the top spot since deposing London in September 2018, remains well in the lead with 763 points based on surveys of 147 factors covering 121 centres provided by third parties, including the World Bank, OECD, and the United Nations.

London closed the gap with New York slightly, coming in at 744 points, which is likely to trigger relief there given worries over post-Brexit competitiveness after high-profile companies such as UK chip designer Arm Holdings decided to list in New York.

Singapore, however, is now only 2 points behind London at 742, itself only a point ahead of Hong Kong in fourth place, signalling an intensifying battle for the second spot.

The index is compiled every six months by London-based think tank Z/Yen and the China Development Institute.

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