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. The first index was published in March 2007. It has been jointly published twice per year by Z/Yen and the China Development Institute since 2015.[1] [2] It is widely quoted as a top source for ranking financial centres.[3] [4] [5]
The 35th edition of the GFCI was published in March 2024.[6]
| Rank | Centre | Rating | Change in rank | Change in rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 764 | 1 | |||
| 2 | 747 | 3 | |||
| 3 | 742 | ||||
| 4 | 741 | ||||
| 5 | 740 | 5 | |||
| 6 |  Shanghai | 739 | 1 | 6 | |
| 7 | Geneva | 738 | 3 | 8 | |
| 8 |  Los Angeles | 737 | 2 | 3 | |
| 9 | 736 | 5 | |||
| 10 |  Seoul | 735 | 1 | 6 | |
| 11 | Shenzhen | 734 | 16 | ||
| 13 | Washington, D.C. | 733 | 4 | 1 | |
| 13 | Frankfurt | 732 | 1 | 6 | |
| 14 |  Paris | 731 | 1 | 6 | |
| 15 | Beijing | 730 | 2 | 3 | |
| 16 | Zürich | 729 | 2 | 7 | |
| 17 |  Luxembourg | 728 | 1 | 4 | |
| 18 |  Sydney | 726 | 4 | 8 | |
| 19 |  Tokyo | 725 | 1 | 5 | |
| 20 | Dubai | 724 | 1 | 5 |
The latest report ranked 120 international financial centres into the following matrix:[8]
| Level | Broad and deep Global leaders | Relatively broad Global diversified | Relatively deep Global specialists | Emerging Global contenders | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global | Singapore London New York CityFrankfurt Shanghai Tokyo TorontoAmsterdam Zürich Sydney* | Paris Seoul Washington, D.C. Chicago Los Angeles San Francisco | Beijing Hong KongDubai* Luxembourg ShenzhenAbu Dhabi  Casablanca* |  Moscow | |
| Level | Broad and deep Established international | Relatively broad International diversified | Relatively deep International specialists | Emerging International contenders | |
| International | Berlin Bangkok* MadridKuala Lumpur* Busan Boston*Stuttgart Edinburgh Melbourne MiamiΔHamburg*  DublinGeneva  Brussels Osaka* Montreal Vancouver Stockholm Milan Rome |  Mexico CityAthens* | Guangzhou Mumbai* New Delhi* ChengduRiyadh* Dalian*Cayman Islands* GIFT City Qingdao Kigali Taipei Astana*Jersey*  Tel Aviv*Guernsey*  Liechtenstein* | Saint Petersburg* Istanbul São PauloCape Town  PanamaBermuda*  NairobiBritish Virgin Islands  BahrainJohannesburg  Mauritius Budapest*Lagos*  Doha | |
| Level | Broad and deep Established players | Relatively broad Local diversified | Relatively deep Local specialists | Emerging Evolving centres | |
| Local |  Warsaw Atlanta*Munich  Oslo Glasgow PragueCopenhagen Minneapolis–Saint PaulLisbon Calgary San Diego Helsinki Wellington | Santiago Vienna* | Hangzhou* Kuwait City* Tianjin* Nanjing* MaltaTehran  GibraltarMonaco Lugano Isle of Man*  Reykjavík |  Buenos Aires Baku Ho Chi Minh City Bogotá Trinidad and Tobago Almaty*Manila*  Bratislava*Jakarta Rio de Janeiro Vilnius* Cyprus*The Bahamas WuhanSofia* Riga Xi'an* |
This is run for five separate areas of competitiveness to assess how financial centres perform in each of the areas.[8]
| Level | Business environment | Human capital | Infrastructure | Financial sector development | Reputational and general | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | |||||
| 2 | Singapore | London | Singapore | Singapore | London | |
| 3 | London | Singapore | London | London |  Singapore | |
| 4 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Washington, D.C. | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | |
| 5 | Beijing | San Francisco | Luxembourg | Shenzhen | San Francisco | |
| 6 | Shanghai | Washington, D.C. | Shenzhen | Shanghai | Washington, D.C. | |
| 7 | Washington, D.C. | Shanghai | Hong Kong | Frankfurt | Shanghai | |
| 8 | Amsterdam | Seoul | Seoul | Beijing | Seoul | |
| 9 | San Francisco | Beijing | Beijing | Los Angeles | Beijing | |
| 10 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Shanghai | Luxembourg | Los Angeles | |
| 11 | Zürich | Chicago | Frankfurt | Washington, D.C. | Chicago | |
| 12 | Luxembourg | Zürich | San Francisco | San Francisco | Zürich | |
| 13 | Frankfurt | Tokyo | Amsterdam | Boston | Tokyo | |
| 14 | Paris | Boston | Sydney | Seoul | Boston | |
| 15 | Chicago | Geneva | Los Angeles | Chicago | Geneva |
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.
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.[8]
| Level | Banking | Investment management | Insurance | Professional services | Government and regulatory | Finance | Fintech | Trading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | New York City | New York City | New York City | |||||
| 2 | Shenzhen | London | London | Singapore | London | London | London | Singapore | |
| 3 | Shanghai | Singapore | Shenzhen | London | Washington, D.C. | Shanghai | Singapore | Los Angeles | |
| 4 | Beijing | Shanghai | Singapore | Hong Kong | Singapore | Shenzhen | Hong Kong | London | |
| 5 | London | Beijing | Shanghai | Seoul | Seoul | Beijing | Zürich | Beijing | |
| 6 | Singapore | Shenzhen | Beijing | Washington, D.C. | Tokyo | Hong Kong | San Francisco | Seoul | |
| 7 | Luxembourg | Hong Kong | Los Angeles | San Francisco | San Francisco | San Francisco | Frankfurt | Washington, D.C. | |
| 8 | Hong Kong | Geneva | Hong Kong | Los Angeles | Shanghai | Singapore | Amsterdam | San Francisco | |
| 9 | Los Angeles | San Francisco | Boston | Luxembourg | Frankfurt | Washington, D.C. | Chicago | Shanghai | |
| 10 | Washington, D.C. | Los Angeles | San Francisco | Shanghai | Los Angeles | Luxembourg | Copenhagen | Hong Kong | |
| 11 | San Francisco | Chicago | Geneva | Geneva | Hong Kong | Frankfurt | Dubai | Shenzhen | |
| 12 | Geneva | Zürich | Sydney | Chicago | Luxembourg | Los Angeles | Washington, D.C. | Tokyo | |
| 13 | Chicago | Dubai | Seoul | Frankfurt | Chicago | Chicago | Geneva | Chicago | |
| 14 | Boston | Luxembourg | Washington, D.C. | Boston | Zürich | Amsterdam | Berlin | Boston | |
| 15 | Paris | Boston | Miami | Dubai | Boston | Berlin | Shanghai | Miami |