Cayman loses ground in global index
(CNS Business): The Cayman Islands has dropped 11 ranks in the Global financial Centres Index 16 (GFCI 16) in the most recent rating of financial centres published this month. Down 23 points, Cayman is now ranked at #54 in the global listing, compiled by the Z/Yen Group, and third in the list of offshore centres, below Gibralter (ranked #53 globally) and British Virgin Islands (#47). New York remains the leading financial centre in the world, followed by London, Hong Kong and Singapore, with San Francisco jumping 5 ranks and 8 points to take the fifth spot.
The sixteenth edition of GFCI, which is published twice per year, found that offshore centres continue to struggle with reputation and regulation. While they are well ahead of their position several years ago, all offshore centres have seen their ratings decline since GFCI 15 published in March 2014. In particular the British crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have dropped significantly in the ranks. The four British overseas territories tracked in the GFCI have also declined but less severely than the dependencies.
The GFCI is compiled in part based on responses to an ongoing online questionnaire completed by international financial services professionals, who gave the offshore centres significantly lower ratings. This was cited as the reason behind the rankings drop rather than fundamental changes measured by the instrumental factors.
The global average assessment for the Cayman Islands is 635, up a little from 624 in GFCI 15. Assessments from other offshore respondents and from Western Europe were well below the mean whilst respondents from all other areas were better than the overall mean.
New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore remain the top four global financial centres. All four centres lost points in the GFCI ratings but retained their relative ranks. New York remains the top centre but by only one point on a scale of 1,000. Following GFCI 15, London remains just behind New York due, the report found, to uncertainty over the UK’s position in Europe, regulatory creep and the UK appearing to be less welcoming to foreigners all being contributing factors.
The top ten Western European centres all saw a decline in their ratings. Leading centres in the region all fell in the ratings, with Zurich, Geneva, Luxembourg and Frankfurt joining London in losing ground.
The Global Financial Centres Index provides profiles, ratings and rankings for 83 financial centres, drawing on two separate sources of data – instrumental factors and responses to an online survey. The GFCI was first published by Z/Yen Group in March 2007 and has subsequently been updated every six months. This is the sixteenth edition of GFCI (GFCI 16). Read in full here
Related article:Â GFCI 16 methodology questioned by Cayman Finance
Category: Finance, Financial Services
