In this article, we discuss the top 5 financial cities in the world. If you want to see more top financial cities in the world, go directly to Top 20 Financial Cities in the World.
5. San Francisco
GFCI Rating: 724
San Francisco is located right next to Silicon Valley which is where many leading tech giants have their headquarters. Considering its status as a financial city, San Francisco has helped Silicon Valley grow over the years via providing investments, banking services, and much more. As Silicon Valley has grown, San Francisco has become arguably more of a financial city given many companies want to do business with the leading tech giants have expanded there. According to the thirty-second edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 32), San Francisco also ranks #2 in the world in terms of fintech, trailing only New York City.
4. Hong Kong
GFCI Rating: 725
Hong Kong is one of the most international cities in Greater China given its history as part of Britain in the last century. Many foreign financial institutions have operations in the city and Hong Kong also has one of the world’s largest stock exchanges by aggregate market capitalization of listed companies in terms of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
As a financial city, the government of Hong Kong writes, “As one of the leading international financial centres, Hong Kong is a prime location for financial services and home to many financial institutions. Hong Kong’s financial markets operate under effective and transparent regulations that are in line with international standards. Located at the heart of Asia, Hong Kong also thrives on close financial integration with Mainland China, extensive networks with the rest of the world, sound legal system, simple and competitive tax regime, free flow of capital, a full range of financial products, and a large pool of financial talents. The financial sector had a workforce of over 277,000, or 7.6% of working population in Hong Kong in 2021, and contributed to some 21.3% of Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product.”
3. Singapore
GFCI Rating: 726
Singapore ranks #3 on our list of Top 20 Financial Cities in the World given its GFCI rating of 726, up 3 places from the previous GFCI ranking. Although it is a city state, Singapore has a sizable economy with a GDP of $397 billion in 2021. Singapore also has numerous multinationals that have their Southeast Asian headquarters based there.
2. London
GFCI Rating: 731
London is the world’s second largest financial city given many financial firms such as banks, insurance companies, and fintech companies have their headquarters there. The city is responsible for $3.8 trillion in daily forex, more than New York City, Singapore and Hong Kong combined. London is also the headquarters of many investment managers that manage more capital than any other financial city in Europe.
1. New York City
GFCI Rating: 760
New York City ranks #1 on our list of Top 20 Financial Cities in the World given its GFCI rating of 760. New York City is the home to Wall Street and has the deepest capital pool of any city. According to NYC.gov, New York City is also home to 45 Fortune 500 companies and the city has a large talent base of over 330,000 financial service workers. Furthermore, New York City has the world’s two top stock exchanges in terms of aggregate market capitalization of listed companies in the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ.
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