DIFC, WAIFC And Z/Yen Spearhead Global Thinking On The Future Role Of Financial Centres

• Dubai International Financial Centre, the World Alliance of International Financial Centers, and the Z/Yen Group have published a White Paper On the Future Of Financial Centres.
• Financial centres – and the organisations that represent them – are spearheading efforts to strengthen their jurisdictions’ financial markets, business environments, and innovation ecosystems to enable sustainable global growth.
• In 2030, financial centres will be green, smart, innovative, customer-focused, digital and inclusive, and will play a critical role in attracting and retaining the best talent.
• Continuous collaboration and sharing of knowledge will be key to supporting growth across all sectors in the future.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, in collaboration with the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) and the Z/Yen Group, today released a white paper focussing on how financial centres around the world are addressing the big questions facing society today and sharing a vision for financial centres for 2030.

Titled, ‘The Future of Financial Centres’, the white paper was developed following the Annual General Meeting of the WAIFC, where a number of CEO-level representatives from financial centres worldwide gathered in DIFC to share insights on policy design and regulatory interventions to enable sustainable growth, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and human capital development.

Whilst focusing on the role financial centres play in supporting global economic growth, offering investment for businesses, providing access to financial services for individuals and enabling trade, the white paper includes how financial centres:

• operate both through collaboration and competition, offering internationally competitive business environments whilst at the same time partnering with other financial centres to facilitate trade and knowledge transfer.
• are encouraging growth in sustainable finance by developing sustainability strategies, shaping regulation, developing new financial instruments and contributing to national policy developments.
• have encouraged regulatory change to enable digital finance to help start-ups operate at low cost, support the development of digital ID and Know Your Customer (KYC) systems, and back initiatives to widen access to financial services through mobile platforms.
• are working on attracting, upskilling, retaining and reskilling talent by establishing tailored training, developing networks that support local workforces and providing attractive working environments.
• are fostering links between regulators and market participants to ensure that regulatory changes are understood, urging the development of international regulatory standards, providing regulators with commercial insights and encouraging competition.

The paper further examines the contribution that financial centres can make over the next decade in addressing the challenges relating to sustainability, demography, inclusivity and 4IR.

Commenting on the white paper, Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, said: “The financial services and technology sectors play a significant role in helping our economies prosper. The white paper, issued by DIFC and our partners, contains important recommendations that need to be converted into objectives that are best delivered through collaboration between financial centres. Embedding the deliverables will allow financial centres to increase their contribution to the global economy, whilst providing opportunities for clients to innovate, be more inclusive and sustainable.”

Jennifer Reynolds, Chair of the WAIFC, concluded: “The global financial industry is amid a dramatic wave of change that started during the financial crisis in 2008. Since then, rapid changes in technology, demand for sustainable finance, and the pandemic continued to drive change. The pace of change will increase, and financial centres must focus their priorities on becoming green, smart, innovative, customer-focused, digital, and inclusive. This white paper strengthens our spirit of collaboration between leading financial centres from across the globe.”

Professor Michael Mainelli, Chairman at Z/Yen Group, added: “While financial centres exist in a competitive system that encourages high performance, that system equally exhibits strong elements of cooperation and collaboration that encourage constant improvement and renewed targeting of society’s deeper needs. DIFC identified the need for a report that set out the central role of financial centres in addressing global challenges. That need was rapidly recognised by many other centres and the professionals working in them, who quickly lent their support.”

The white paper also highlighted that financial centres should continue to collaborate and share best practices for supporting growth across all sectors to ensure their ambitions for a better future are realised. Just as the clustering of financial and professional services in financial centres encourages innovation, the collaboration between financial centres will lead to better sustainable development outcomes.

For more information, download the white paper here: https://www.zyen.com/publications/public-reports/the-future-of-financial-centres/

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Notes For Editors

About DIFC

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, which comprises 72 countries with a population of three billion and GDP of USD 8 trillion.

With a 17-year track record of facilitating trade and investment flows across MEASA, the Centre connects these fast-growing markets with the economies of Asia, Europe and the Americas through Dubai.

DIFC is home to an internationally recognised, independent regulator and judicial system with an English common law framework, as well as the region’s largest financial ecosystem of almost 30,000 professionals working across over 3,600 active registered companies – making up the largest and most diverse pool of industry talent.

The Centre’s vision is to drive the Future of Finance (FoF) through cutting-edge technology, innovation, and partnerships. The global FoF and Innovation Hub offers one of the region’s most comprehensive FinTech and venture capital environments, including licensing solutions, fit-for-purpose regulation, innovative accelerator programmes, and funding for growth-stage start-ups.

Comprising a variety of world-renowned retail and dining venues, art and culture scene, residential apartments, hotels and public spaces, DIFC continues to be one of Dubai’s most sought-after business and lifestyle destinations.

About the WAIFC

The World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) is a non-profit association registered in Belgium, representing 20 leading international financial centres across four continents. WAIFC members are governments agencies, associations, and similar institutions developing and promoting their financial centres. WAIFC facilitates cooperation between its members, exchanging best practices and communication with the general public.

About Z/Yen

Z/Yen is the City of London's leading commercial think-tank, founded in 1994 to promote societal advance through better finance and technology. Z/Yen has built its practice around a core of high-powered project managers, supported by experienced technical specialists so that clients get expertise they need, rather than just resources available.

In March 2007, Z/Yen and the City Of London released the first edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), which continues to provide evaluations of competitiveness and rankings for the major financial centres around the world. The GFCI is updated every March and September and receives considerable attention from the global financial community. The index serves as a valuable reference for policy and investment decisions.

The thirty-first edition of the GFCI was published in March 2022.