The study, which is conducted by the Z/Yen Group and sponsored by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority, rates 80 financial centres on a scale of 1 to 1,000.
In the latest tranche of the survey, which is updated every six months, more than 2,700 financial services professionals were asked about the financial centres which they knew, answering about the centres’ competitiveness.
While London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore remain the top four centres – with a 43 points spread between London in first and Singapore in fourth – all have seen their ratings decline slightly with London’s score dropping the most by 13 points.
Tokyo has eclipsed Zurich this time to rank in fifth place. Elsewhere, Frankfurt, Zurich and Geneva remain in the GFCI top ten and Luxembourg has climbed five places to 13th.
Most of the remaining financial centres in Europe however, still appear to be suffering from uncertainty in the Eurozone.
Paris is down by 14 points, Munich by 16, Amsterdam by 26, Milan by 34, Madrid by 28 and Brussels by 44 points.
Lisbon and Athens also fall and Athens remains at the bottom of the index.
Of the offshore financial centres, Jersey scored the highest and was the only offshore centre to appear within the top 30, retaining its ranking of 28th and eight places ahead of its near neighbour Guernsey, ranked 36, down five places from six months ago.
Geoff Cook, chief executive of Jersey Finance, who wrote the 14th index’s forward, said that he was encouraged by Jersey’s consistent ranking within the top 30 IFCs.
He said: “A graph published in the Index, illustrating the performance of the offshore jurisdictions, shows clearly how Jersey has consistently maintained its leading position during the six years since the Index was launched.
“While there have undoubtedly been challenges for many of the niche IFCs including the offshore jurisdictions since the financial crisis of 2007, Jersey’s consistency continues to be evident, while there is also a welcome improvement in our rating from some of the key locations where we are seeking to secure new business.”
Other notable performers include Rio – perhaps enjoying the feel good factor ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil – which climbed 17 places to be ranked 31 in this index.
Sponsor Qatar, meanwhile, also performed strongly, and is now ranked 24th – up six places on its March ranking.
