The City of London remains a leader of financial activity in Europe and remains far ahead of its competitors from the European Union, mainly Paris and Frankfurt, only months before Brexit.
This shows a new study of the “New Financial” Analytical Centre, focusing on the value of real local and international financial activity in terms of managed assets and issuing securities, Reuters reported.
Globally, London has only been overtaken by New York, who receives an estimate mark of 79 out of 100 (the maximum).
According to the Managing Director of “New Financial” William Wright, the relocation of banks and investment managers could lead to a change in current positions, but the other financial centres in Europe “have a lot of homework to catch up”.
Meanwhile, the EU is preparing reforms for the creation of a capital union, which will, to some extent, replace the City of London, but the progress is still slow.
“In light of Brexit, it underlines the urgency for the rest of the EU of pushing ahead with the capital markets union project to develop bigger and deeper capital markets,” Wright said.
When considering qualitative factors such as political stability, legislation and quality of life, the first place receives Switzerland, followed by Luxembourg and Ireland.
The European regulators have asked the London banks to license new centres before Britain’s exit from the EU and it is still unclear what and how much access the City of London will have to the bloc’s markets. The country has already warned that its companies will suffer from higher costs and market fragmentation if London is detached from the Union.
The City of London employs 350 000 people who provide about a quarter of British GDP. The most modest estimates within 5 years in Frankfurt could be transferred 1.5 to 2 percent of all jobs in the City of London.
The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City (differentiated from the phrase “the city of London” by capitalising City) and is also colloquially known as the Square Mile as its actual size is about one square mile per area. The same name is often used as a byword for financial services in the United Kingdom, which have historically been located here. Today, many financial institutions are located here, as well as the Bank of England.
