London closes gap on New York in financial center rankings

London just got a little bit closer to New York. /AFP

London has closed the gap on New York in the latest rankings of the world's leading financial centers – but the American city is still top of the pile.

The bi-annual rankings published by the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) are the world's most authoritative comparison of the competitiveness of the world's leading financial centres.

One hundred and eleven financial centers across the world are ranked based on a combination of assessments from financial professionals and quantitative data.

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Friday's index also saw Shanghai overtake Tokyo to take third place, while Hong Kong and Singapore took fifth and sixth place respectively.

GFCI 28 again showed a relatively high level of volatility, with 23 centers rising 10 or more places in the rankings and 20 falling 10 or more places.

Overall, the average rating of centers in the index dropped over 41 points (6.25 percent) from GFCI 27, which could partly be the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individual economies.

A general lack of confidence in finance during a time of continuing uncertainty around international trade, as well as geopolitical and local unrest, may also have contributed to the overall drop.

However, all of the top 10 centers in the index increased their ratings, reversing recent trends. Of the next 40 centers, 12 improved their rating while 27 fell, which could indicate increaseing concentration on leading centers during the pandemic.

The 28th edition of the index was issued by Z/Yen Group in partnership with the China Development Institute (CDI) in London.