Istanbul drops 12 places in global financial centers index

ISTANBUL

AFP photo

In a leading index of global financial centers, Istanbul has fallen 12 places to 78th, despite a rise in its rating, among 92 centers across the globe on factors such as infrastructure and access to high quality staff.

Istanbul’s overall average rating is 617 in the 22nd Z/Yen global financial centers index (GFCI), up from 609 in the previous index. 

The city ranked 66th in the previous list, which was released in March and covered 88 financial centers. 

Warsaw became the top center in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, to which Istanbul belongs. Warsaw ranked 36th in the global list with a ranking at 664. 


London remains top

London remains the globe’s most attractive financial center, extending its lead over New York despite Britain’s looming departure from the European Union.

Britain’s departure from the trading bloc has led to some politicians and economists predicting London will lose its pre-eminent status as a financial center, but there are few signs of that happening yet.

London was placed first, followed by New York, Hong Kong and Singapore in the index. New York was 24 points behind the British capital, the biggest gap between the two since the survey started in 2007.

New York’s ranking fell 24 points from last year, the largest fall among the top contenders, a dip the survey’s authors said was “presumably due to fears over U.S. trade.”