This spring has seen the publication of the fifth edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 5) created by Z/Yen. One of the themes of GFCI 5 was that of uncertainty – as one respondent put it “it’s all a bit iffy out here at the moment!”

London and New York still head the index but all financial centres suffered declines in the ratings. The lesser known financial centres actually suffered more than the well established centres. “There’s no safe port in this storm” said one respondent as another commented "the reputation of the big centres has undoubtedly been tarnished but people still trust them more than the upstarts". A senior asset manager backed this up – "the story of the Icelandic banks has done long term damage to perceptions about the smaller centres".

Many respondents agreed that the response of governments to the regulatory environment, the recession and the management of the public sector ownership of banks will all be important in determining the future competitiveness of financial centres. We are shortly starting our research into GFCI 6 which will be published in September. Please give us your views here. Your opinions on how governments and regulators are handling the crisis and the effects on long term competitiveness are eagerly awaited!