The Global Financial Centres Index 40

The fortieth edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 40) was published on 16 September 2026. GFCI 40 provides evaluations of future competitiveness and rankings for 117 financial centres around the world. The GFCI serves as a valuable reference for policy and investment decision-makers.

China Development Institute (CDI) in Shenzhen and Z/Yen Partners in London collaborate in producing the GFCI. The GFCI is updated and published every March and September, and receives considerable attention from the global financial community.

139 financial centres were researched for GFCI 40 of which 117 are in the main index. The GFCI is compiled using 144 instrumental factors. These quantitative measures are provided by third parties including the World Bank, the OECD, and the United Nations.

The instrumental factors are combined with financial centre assessments provided by respondents to the GFCI online questionnaire. GFCI 40 uses 39,531 assessments from 6,147 respondents.

GFCI 40 Results

Leading Centres

• New York leads the index, with London second. Hong Kong retains third position ahead of Singapore.
• Shanghai is up one place to fifth, with Tokyo up four places to sixth. Seoul, Shenzhen, Dubai, and Zurich complete the top 10.

Western Europe

• London continues to lead in the region, with four Western European centres featuring in the top 20 in GFCI 40 (seven in GFCI 39).
• The average rating across this region rose by 1.28%.
• Nine centres fell in the ratings in comparison with GFCI 39.

Asia/Pacific

• Six Asia/Pacific centres feature in the world top 10.
• The average rating for this region is up 1.48% compared with GFCI 39.
• Just four centres in the region fell in the ratings.
• Da Nang entered the index for the first time in 71st position.

North America

• New York is the only North American centre in the world top 10, with San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Washington DC all in the top 20.
• On average, ratings for centres in this region were up 0.49%.
• Nine of the 14 centres in the region improved their ratings.

Eastern Europe & Central Asia

• Astana remains in the lead position in the region, with Cyprus and Warsaw maintaining second and third position in the region.
• The average rating change across this region decreased 1.09% with the leading centres in the region improving, while other centres fell back.

Middle East & Africa

• Dubai and Abu Dhabi continue to take first and second places in the region, with Dubai continuing to feature in the world top 10.
• Casablanca rose 11 places to take third place in the region and to lead in Africa, with Riyadh up 15 places to move into fourth position.
• The average rating change across this region was an increase of 0.82%.

Latin America & The Caribbean

• Bermuda maintained its lead in the region, ahead of Cayman Islands and Mexico City, which rose 16 rank places to take third place in the region.
• Eight of the 12 centres in the region fell in the ratings and the average ratings in the index falling by 0.62% in the region. Only Bermuda, Mexico City, Panama, and Buenos Aires improved their ratings.

FinTech

• We are able to assess 115 centres for their FinTech offering.
• Hong Kong is in top position followed by New York, Shenzhen, Singapore, Shanghai, and London.
• Tallinn, Istanbul, Atlanta, Cyprus, and Oslo improved by 20 or more places in the FinTech rankings.