London holds off New York to keep its title as the world’s number one financial centre despite Brexit uncertainty

London has held onto the top spot as the world’s leading financial centre, according to a global study.

However, political uncertainty from Brexit and the US election has had a “significant impact” on the state of affairs, as London and second place New York fell 13 and 14 points respectively compared to the last Global Financial Centres Index by Z/Yen. Those were the steepest declines, bar Calgary, amongst the world’s top 50 financial centres.

The latest Global Financial Centres Index by Z/Yen said the top five financial centres remained unchanged with the capital holding onto its crown, followed by New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Read more: Ranked: Average rent prices of the world’s top financial cities

But Singapore is fast closing in on the two cities ahead, rising eight points to be 20 points behind New York, having been 42 points behind in the last report.

The capital was still comfortably ahead of other European hotspots though – Luxembourg was 18th, Frankfurt 23rd and Paris 29th in the rankings.

With Theresa May set to trigger Article 50 on Wednesday and start Brexit negotiations, much is still yet to be determined on Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

Mark Yeandle, associate director at the Z/Yen group and the author of the GFCI, said:

We live in uncertain times and financial professionals hate uncertainty. Brexit has caused uncertainty in Europe and the election of Donald Trump has caused uncertainty globally.

London’s deputy mayor for business wrote in City A.M. yesterday saying of the capital: “No other city can provide its unique environment for business success: access to the best talent from around the world, an abundance of high-quality office, co-working, start-up spaces, excellent connectivity, and an entrepreneurial and innovative environment.”

Rajesh Agrawal warned that London must be able to recruit and retain the best global talent to maintain its status.

The world’s top 10 financial cities

London

New York

Singapore

Hong Kong

Tokyo

San Francisco

Chicago

Sydney

Boston

Toronto

Read more: Fintech helps London to keep global finance title