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[[File:Canary Wharf tube station MMB 13.jpg | thumb | 220x124px | right | alt= London’s second financial capital. |
London’s second Financial district, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets.]]
[[Place:London|London]]'s flagship Financial District in The City of London, the largest international financial district (IFD)<ref name=GFCI34>{{cite web |url = https://www.longfinance.net/media/documents/GFCI_34_Report_2022.09.28_v1.0.pdf |title = The Global Financial Centres Index 34 |date = September 28, 2023|publisher = Long Finance |access-date = September 28, 2023 }}</ref><ref name=NYCCapitalWorld>{{cite news |url=https://news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/london-top-global-financial-centre-as-new-regulations-send-positive-signals-to-businesses-research-finds/#:~:text=London%20has%20retained%20its%20crown,City%20of%20London%20Corporation%20reveal.
{{Finance sidebar}}
A '''financial centre''' ('''financial center''' in American English) or '''financial hub''' is a location with a significant concentration of [[Finance:Global financial system#Participants|participants]] in [[Finance:Banking|banking]], [[Social:Asset management|asset management]], [[Finance:Insurance|insurance]], and financial markets, with venues and supporting services for these activities to take place.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kenton|first=Will|title=How Financial Hubs Work|url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financial-hub.asp|access-date=2 October 2020|website=Investopedia|language=en}}</ref><ref name="UWO">{{cite web|title=Financial Centres: What, Where and Why?|url=https://instruct.uwo.ca/geog/556/Financial%20Centres2.pdf|access-date=24 May 2015|publisher=The University of Western Ontario}}</ref> Participants can include [[Finance:Financial intermediary|financial intermediaries]] (such as banks and brokers), institutional investors (such as investment managers, pension funds, insurers, and hedge funds), and issuers (such as companies and governments). [[Social:Trade|Trading activity]] can take place on venues such as [[Finance:Exchange (organized market)|exchanges]] and involve [[Finance:Clearing house|clearing houses]], although many transactions take place [[Finance:Over-the-counter|over-the-counter]] (OTC), directly between participants. Financial centres usually host companies that offer a wide range of [[Finance:Financial services|financial services]], for example relating to [[Social:Mergers and acquisitions|mergers and acquisitions]], [[Finance:Public offering|public offering]]s, or [[Finance:Corporate action|corporate action]]s; or which participate in other areas of [[Finance:Finance|finance]], such as [[Finance:Private equity|private equity]], hedge funds, and [[Reinsurance|reinsurance]]. Ancillary financial services include rating agencies, as well as provision of related [[Finance:Professional services|professional services]], particularly [[Finance:Practice of law|legal advice]] and [[Finance:Accounting|accounting]] services.<ref name="Roberts2008" />

The [[Organization:International Monetary Fund|International Monetary Fund]]'s classes of major financial centres are: International Financial Centres (IFCs), such as The City of London, {{wipe|New York City}}, url=https://www.cityam.com/london-is-a-top-global-financial-centre-but-lets-not-get-complacent/ [[Place:Paris|Paris]] and [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]]; Regional Financial Centres (RFCs), such as [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]], Shenzhen, [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]], Frankfurt and [[Place:Sydney|Sydney]]; and Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs), such as [[Finance:Cayman Islands|Cayman Islands]], [[Place:Dublin|Dublin]], Cyprus and [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]].{{efn|"Offshore" does not refer to the location of the OFC (i.e. many FSF–IMF OFCs, such as Luxembourg and Hong Kong, are located "onshore"), but to the fact that the largest users of the OFC are nonresident (i.e. the users are non-domestic).}}

International Financial Centres, and many Regional Financial Centres, are full–service financial centres with direct access to large capital pools from banks, insurance companies, investment funds, and listed capital markets, and are major [[Global city|global cities]]. Offshore Financial Centres, and also some Regional Financial Centres, tend to specialise in tax-driven services, such as corporate tax planning tools, tax–neutral vehicles,{{efn|name=tax|''Tax–neutral'' is a term that OFCs use to describe legal structures where the OFC does not levy any taxes, duties or VAT on fund flows into, during, or exiting (e.g. no withholding taxes) the vehicle.  Major examples being the Irish [[Social:Qualifying investor alternative investment fund (QIAIF)|Qualifying investor alternative investment fund (QIAIF)]], and the Cayman Islands SPC.}} and shadow banking/securitisation, and can include smaller locations (e.g. Luxembourg), or city-states (e.g. Singapore). The IMF notes an overlap between Regional Financial Centres and Offshore Financial Centres (e.g. Hong Kong and Singapore are both Offshore Financial Centres and Regional Financial Centres). Since 2010, academics consider Offshore Financial Centres synonymous with tax havens.{{efn|This is since circa 2010, after the post 2000 IMF–[[Organization:OECD|OECD]]–[[Finance:Financial Action Task Force|FATF]] initiatives on common standards, regulatory compliance, and banking transparency, which had significantly weakened the regulatory attraction of OFCs over IFCs and RFCs.<ref name="h1"/><ref name="missing profits"/>}}

==Definitions==

===FSF–IMF approach===

In April 2000, the [[Organization:Financial Stability Forum|Financial Stability Forum]] ("FSF"),{{efn|The FSF is a group consisting of major national financial authorities such as finance ministries, [[Finance:Central bank|central bank]]ers, and international financial bodies}} concerned about OFCs on global financial stability produced a report listing 42 OFCs.<ref name="FSF">{{cite web|url=http://www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/r_0004b.pdf?page_moved=1|title=Report from the Working Group on Offshore Centres|publisher=[[Organization:Financial Stability Forum|Financial Stability Forum]]|date=5 April 2000}}</ref> In June 2000, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a working paper on OFCs, but which also proposed a taxonomy on classifying the various types of global financial centres, which they listed as follows (with the description and examples they noted as typical of each category, also noted):<ref name="IMFJune2000">{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/mae/oshore/2000/eng/back.htm|title=Offshore Financial Centers: IMF Background Paper|publisher=[[Organization:International Monetary Fund|International Monetary Fund]]|date=23 June 2000}}</ref>

{{ordered list|type=lower-roman

| International Financial Center (IFC).  Described by the IMF as being large international full–service centres with advanced settlement and payments systems, supporting large domestic economies, with deep [[Finance:Market liquidity|market liquidity]] where both the sources and uses of funds are diverse, and where legal and regulatory frameworks are adequate to safeguard the integrity of principal–agent relationships and supervisory functions. IFCs generally borrow short–term from non–residents and lend long–term to non–residents.  Examples cited by the IMF included New York City,<ref name=GFCI34/><ref name=NYCCapitalWorld/> London, and Tokyo.

| Regional Financial Center (RFC). The IMF noted that RFCs, like IFCs, have developed financial markets and infrastructure and intermediate funds in and out of their region, but in contrast to IFCs, have relatively small domestic economies.  Examples cited by the IMF included Hong Kong, Singapore, and Luxembourg.

| Offshore Financial Center (OFC). The IMF noted that OFCs are usually smaller, and provide more specialist services, however, OFCs still ranged from centres that provide specialist and skilled activities, attractive to major financial institutions, and more lightly regulated centres that provide services that are almost entirely tax driven, and have very limited resources to support financial intermediation. The IMF listed 46 OFCs in 2000, the largest of which was Ireland, the Caribbean (including the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands), Hong Kong, Singapore, and Luxembourg.

}}
[[File:HK International Finance Centre 200809.jpg|right|thumb|International Finance Centre (Hong Kong)]]
The IMF noted that the three categories were not mutually exclusive and that various locations could fall under the definition of an OFC and an RFC, in particular (e.g. Singapore and Hong Kong were cited).<ref name="IMFJune2000"/>

===Rationale for OFCs===

The IMF noted that OFCs could be set up for ''legitimate purposes'' (listing various reasons), but also for what the IMF called ''dubious purposes'', citing tax evasion and money–laundering. In 2007, the IMF produced the following definition of an OFC: ''a country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy''.<ref name="imf">{{cite journal|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2007/wp0787.pdf|title=Concept of Offshore Financial Centers: In Search of an Operational Definition|author=Ahmed Zoromé|publisher=[[Organization:International Monetary Fund|International Monetary Fund]]|quote=IMF Working Paper 07/87|date=1 April 2007}}</ref> The FSF annual reports on global shadow banking use the IMF definition to track the OFCs with the largest financial centres relative to their domestic economies.<ref name="FSF1">{{cite web|url=http://www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/P050318-1.pdf|title=Global Shadow Banking and Monitoring Report: 2017|date=5 March 2018|quote=Jurisdictions with the largest financial systems relative to GDP (Exhibit 2–3) tend to have relatively larger OFI [or Shadow Banking] sectors: Luxembourg (at 92% of total financial assets), the Cayman Islands (85%), Ireland (76%) and the Netherlands (58%)|page=30|publisher=[[Organization:Financial Stability Forum|Financial Stability Forum]]}}</ref>

[[File:Uncovering Offshore Financial Centers Figure 3 Network of ownership flows between countries.jpg|thumb|Conduit and Sink OFCs: Mapping the links between financial centres]]

Progress from 2000 onwards from IMF–[[Organization:OECD|OECD]]–[[Finance:Financial Action Task Force|FATF]] initiatives on common standards, regulatory compliance, and banking transparency, has reduced the regulatory attraction of OFCs over IFCs and RFCs. Since 2010, academics considered the services of OFCs to be synonymous with tax havens, and use the term OFC and tax haven interchangeably (e.g. the academic [[Finance:Tax haven#Tax haven lists|lists of tax havens]] include all the FSF–IMF OFCs).<ref name="h1">{{cite journal|url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.ie/&httpsredir=1&article=1716&context=articles|title=Treasure Islands|pages=103–125|author=James R. Hines Jr.|journal=[[Finance:Journal of Economic Perspectives|Journal of Economic Perspectives]]|volume=4|issue=24|date=2010|quote=Tax havens are also known as "offshore financial centers" or "international financial centers", phrases that may carry slightly different connotations but nevertheless are used almost interchangeably with "tax havens|author-link=James R. Hines Jr}}</ref><ref name="missing profits">{{cite journal| url= https://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/course/zucman11.pdf|author=Gabriel Zucman|title=The Missing Wealth of Nations: Are Europe and the U.S. Net Debtors or net Creditors?|journal=[[Finance:The Quarterly Journal of Economics|The Quarterly Journal of Economics]]|volume=128|issue=3|pages=1321–1364|date=August 2013|quote=Tax havens are low–tax jurisdictions that offer businesses and individuals opportunities for tax avoidance" (Hines, 2008). In this paper, I will use the expression "tax haven" and "offshore financial center" interchangeably (the list of tax havens considered by Dharmapala and Hines (2009) is identical to the list of offshore financial centers considered by the Financial Stability Forum (IMF, 2000), barring minor exceptions)|author-link=Gabriel Zucman|doi=10.1093/qje/qjt012|hdl=10.1093/qje/qjt012|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

In July 2017, a study by the [[Organization:University of Amsterdam|University of Amsterdam]]'s CORPNET group, broke down the definition of an OFC into two subgroups, [[Finance:Conduit and Sink OFCs|Conduit and Sink OFCs]]:<ref name="xx">{{cite journal |author1=Javier Garcia-Bernardo|author2=Jan Fichtner|author3=Frank W. Takes|author4=Eelke M. Heemskerk | volume=7 | issue=6246 |pages=6246| title=Uncovering Offshore Financial Centers: Conduits and Sinks in the Global Corporate Ownership Network | journal=Scientific Reports | date=24 July 2017|bibcode=2017NatSR...7.6246G|arxiv=1703.03016|doi=10.1038/s41598-017-06322-9|pmid=28740120|pmc=5524793}}</ref>

*  24 Sink OFCs: jurisdictions in which a disproportionate amount of value disappears from the economic system (e.g. the traditional tax havens).
*  5 Conduit OFCs: jurisdictions through which a disproportionate amount of value moves toward Sink OFCs (e.g. the corporate–focused [[Finance:Tax haven|tax haven]]s)<br />(Conduits are: Netherlands, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore and Ireland)

Sink OFCs rely on Conduit OFCs to re–route funds from high–tax locations using [[Finance:Base erosion and profit shifting|base erosion and profit shifting]] ("BEPS") tax planning tools, which are encoded, and accepted, in the Conduit OFC's extensive networks of global bilateral tax treaties. Because Sink OFCs are more closely associated with traditional tax havens, they tend to have more limited treaty networks and access to global higher–tax locations.

==Rankings==

Prior to the 1960s, there was little data available to rank financial centres.<ref name="Cassis 2006" />{{rp|1}} In recent years many rankings have been developed and published. Two of the most relevant are the ''Global Financial Centres Index'' and the ''Xinhua–Dow Jones International Financial Centres Development Index''.<ref>See, for example, {{cite web|author1=Yoshio Okubo, Vice Chairman, Japan Securities Dealers Association|title=Comparison of Global Financial Center|url=http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/about/pifs/symposia/japan/2014-japan/2014-japan-us-concept-papers.html|website=Harvard Law School, Program on International Financial Systems, Japan–U.S. Symposium|access-date=30 May 2015|date=October 2014}}</ref>

===Global Financial Centres Index (2007–ongoing)===
{{Main|Finance:Global Financial Centres Index}}
[[File:London_Skyline_(125508655).jpeg|thumb|London is one of the main global financial centres in Europe.]]

The Global Financial Centres Index ("GFCI") is compiled semi-annually by the [[Place:London|London]]-based think tank Z/Yen in conjunction with the Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute.<ref name="GFCI 21">{{cite web |title=The Global Financial Centres Index 21 |date=March 2017 |access-date=12 August 2017 |url=http://www.zyen.com/research/gfci.html |publisher=Z/Yen Group |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913172801/http://www.zyen.com/research/gfci.html |archive-date=13 September 2015 }}</ref> As of 28 September 2023, the top global financial centres per the [[Finance:Global Financial Centres Index|GFCI]] article containing a ranked list of 121 financial centres were:<ref name=GFCI34/>

{| class="wikitable sortable"  style="float:left; text-align:center; font-size:100%; margin:1em;"
|-
! Rank !! Centre !! Rating !! Change in rank !! Change in rating
|-
|1 || align=left| {{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|New York City}} || 763 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 3
|-
|2 || align=left| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Place:London|London]] || 744 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 13
|-
|3 || align=left| {{flagicon|SGP}} [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]] || 742 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 19
|-
|4 || align=left| {{flagicon|HKG}} [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] || 741 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 19
|-
|5 || align=left| {{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|San Francisco}} || 735 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 14
|-
|6 || align=left| {{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|Los Angeles}} || 734 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 15
|-
|7 || align=left| {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]] || 733 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 16
|-
|8 || align=left| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]] || 732 || {{Increase}} 3 || {{Increase}} 19
|-
|9 || align=left| {{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|Chicago}} || 731 || {{Decrease}} 1 || {{Increase}} 15
|-
|10 || align=left| {{flagicon|SUI}} [[Place:Geneva|Geneva]] || 730 || {{Increase}} 13 || {{Increase}} 29
|-
|11 || align=left| {{flagicon|KOR}} [[Place:Seoul|Seoul]] || 729 || {{Decrease}} 1 || {{Increase}} 15
|-
|12 || align=left| {{flagicon|CHN}} Shenzhen || 728 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 16
|-
|13 || align=left| {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Place:Beijing|Beijing]] || 727 || {{Steady}} || {{Increase}} 16
|-
|14 || align=left| {{flagicon|GER}} Frankfurt || 726 || {{Increase}} 3 || {{Increase}} 19
|-
|15 || align=left| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Place:Paris|Paris]] || 725 || {{Decrease}} 1 || {{Increase}} 15
|-
|16 || align=left| {{flagicon|LUX}} [[Place:Luxembourg City|Luxembourg]] || 724 || {{Increase}} 3 || {{Increase}} 19
|-
|17 || align=left| {{flagicon|USA}} Boston || 723 || {{Decrease}} 8 || {{Increase}} 8
|-
|18 || align=left| {{flagicon|SUI}} [[Place:Zürich|Zürich]] || 722 || {{Increase}} 2 || {{Increase}} 18
|-
|19 || align=left| {{flagicon|NED}} [[Place:Amsterdam|Amsterdam]] || 721 || {{Decrease}} 3 || {{Increase}} 13
|-
|20 || align=left| {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]] || 720 || {{Increase}} 1 || {{Increase}} 17
|}
{{clear}}

=== Xinhua–Dow Jones Index (2010–2014) ===
[[File:Skyline Frankfurt am Main 2015.jpg|thumb|200px|Frankfurt's banking district, home to various global and European bank headquarters. The district houses the main German stock exchange and many EU and German regulators.]]
The Xinhua–Dow Jones International Financial Centers Development Index was compiled annually by the Xinhua News Agency of China with the [[Company:Chicago Mercantile Exchange|Chicago Mercantile Exchange]] and Dow Jones & Company of the United States from 2010 to 2014. During that time New York was the top-ranked centre.

According to the 2014 Xinhua–Dow Jones International Financial Centres Development Index (IFCD), the top ten financial centres in the world were:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sh.xinhuanet.com/shstatics/zhuanti2014/zsbg/en.pdf|title=Xinhua–Dow Jones International Financial Centers Development Index (2014)|date=November 2014|publisher=Xinhua and Dow Jones|page=6}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="float:left; text-align:center; margin:1em;"
! Rank
! Change
! Centre
! Rating
|-
|1
|align=center|{{Steady}}
|align=left|{{flagicon|United States}} {{wipe|New York City}}
|87.72
|-
|2
|align=center|{{Steady}}
|align=left|{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Place:London|London]]Δ†
|86.64
|-
|3
|align=center|{{increase}} 1
|align=left|{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]]
|84.57
|-
|4
|align=center|{{increase}} 1
|align=left|{{flagicon|SIN}} [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]]Δ†
|77.23
|-
|5
|align=center|{{decrease}} 2
|align=left|{{flagicon|HKG}} [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]Δ‡
|77.10
|-
|5
|align=center|{{Steady}}
|align=left|{{flagicon|China}} [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]]
|77.10
|-
|7
|align=center|{{Steady}}
|align=left|{{flagicon|France}} [[Place:Paris|Paris]]
|64.83
|-
|8
|align=center|{{Steady}}
|align=left|{{flagicon|Germany}} Frankfurt
|60.27
|-
|9
|align=center|{{increase}} 2
|align=left|{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Place:Beijing|Beijing]]
|59.98
|-
|10
|align=center|{{decrease}} 1
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|Chicago}}
|58.22
|}
{{clear}}
(Δ) Appears on the FSF–IMF [[Finance:Offshore financial centre#Offshore Financial Centre lists|Offshore Financial Centre (OFC) Lists]].<br />
(†) Also appears as one of the top 5 [[Finance:Conduit and Sink OFCs#Conduit OFC|Conduit OFC]], in CORPNET's 2017 research; or<br />
(‡) Also appears as one of the top 5 [[Finance:Conduit and Sink OFCs#Sink OFC|Sink OFC]], in CORPNET's 2017 research.

== Examples ==

Old finance centres such as Amsterdam, London, Paris, and New York [[Finance:Global financial system#History of international financial architecture|have long histories]].<ref name="Cameron & Bovykin 1991">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ItqhNQusviAC&pg=PA13|title=International Banking: 1870–1914|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0-19-506271-7|editor=Cameron, Rondo|location=New York, NY|editor2=Bovykin, V.I.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=What Makes A Successful Global Financial Centre?|url=http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/what-makes-a-successful-global-financial-centre|publisher=Gresham College|access-date=24 May 2015|date=14 October 2009}}</ref> Today there is a diverse range of financial centres worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/Cost-of-living-and-quality-of-life.aspx|title=Cost of living and quality of life in international financial centres|date=3 August 2012|access-date=23 May 2015|publisher=City of London|author=Mercer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525100247/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/Cost-of-living-and-quality-of-life.aspx|archive-date=25 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> While New York and London often stand out as the leading global financial centres,<ref name=FT20150524>{{cite news|title=New York and London vie for crown of world's top financial centre|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b388de4c-174b-11e4-87c0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3azt6Z3LM|access-date=24 May 2015|work=The Financial Times|date=1 October 2014}}</ref><ref name=twsJanO55>{{cite news
 |author= Beth Gardiner
 |title= The London Banking Center Is Beginning to Feel Like Itself Again
 |work= The New York Times: Global Business
 |date= 20 January 2010
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/global/21rglofinuk.html
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref> other established financial centres provide significant competition and several newer financial centres are developing.<ref>{{cite web|title=From local to global: building a modern financial centre|url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/From-local-to-global-building-a-modern-financial-centre.aspx|publisher=City of London|author=Bourse Consult|access-date=24 May 2015|date=18 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525105318/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/From-local-to-global-building-a-modern-financial-centre.aspx|archive-date=25 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite this proliferation of financial centres, academics have discussed evidence showing increasing concentration of financial activity in the largest national and international financial centres in the 21st century.<ref name=Sassen2006>{{cite book|editor-last1=Jacobs|editor-first1=A.J.|title=The World's Cities: Contrasting Regional, National, and Global Perspectives |date=2013|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=9780415894852|edition=1st|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=743UcMiPg1EC&pg=PA24|access-date=29 May 2015|chapter=2: Cities in a World Economy (2006) Saskia Sassen}}</ref>{{rp|24–34}} Others have discussed the ongoing dominance of New York and London, and the role linkages between these two financial centres played in the [[Finance:Financial crisis of 2007–08|financial crisis of 2007–08]].<ref name=Wojcik2011>{{cite journal |last1=Wójcik|first1=Dariusz|title=The dark side of NY–LON: Financial centres and the global financial crisis|ssrn=1890644 |location=School of Geography and Environment, University of Oxford|date=2011|doi=10.2139/ssrn.1890644 |s2cid=219348433 |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:feb2a2bb-2ed9-4163-b37b-5c47a62b1f02 }}</ref>

Comparisons of financial centres focus on their history, role and significance in serving national, regional and international financial activity. Each centre's offering includes differing legal, tax and regulatory environments.<ref name=twsJanO23a>{{cite news
 |author= Patrick McGeehan
 |title= After Reversal of Fortunes, City Takes a New Look at Wall Street
 |work= The New York Times
 |date= 22 February 2009
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/nyregion/23wall.html
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref> One journalist suggested three factors for success as a financial city: "a pool of capital to lend or invest; a decent legal and taxation framework; and high-quality human resources".<ref name=twsJanO54>{{cite news
 |author= Daniel Altman
 |title= Other financial centers could rise amid crisis
 |work= {{wipe|The New York Times}}
 |date= 30 September 2008
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/business/worldbusiness/30iht-glob01.1.16579561.html
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref>

===Major IMF IFCs===

New York, London, and Tokyo are in every list of major IFCs. Some of the major RFCs (see below), such as Paris, Frankfurt, Chicago, and Shanghai appear as IFCs in some lists.

[[File:Photos NewYork1 032.jpg|thumb|The [[Company:New York Stock Exchange|New York Stock Exchange]] on Wall Street, the world's largest stock exchange by listed capitalisation<ref name=NYSEhighestcap>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/nyse-new-york-stock-exchange/|title=NYSE: What Is The New York Stock Exchange|author= Kat Tretina and Benjamin Curry|work=Forbes|date=9 April 2021|accessdate=24 July 2022}}</ref>]]
* '''New York City'''. <section begin=NYC-paragraph1 />Since the middle of the 20th century, New York City, represented by Wall Street in Manhattan's Financial District, has been described as a leading financial centre.<ref name="Cassis 2006"/>{{rp|1}}<ref name=Sassen2006/>{{rp|25}}<ref name=Wojcik2011 />{{rp|4–5}} Over the past few decades, with the rise of a multipolar world with new regional powers and global capitalism, numerous financial centres have challenged Wall Street, particularly London and several in Asia, which some analysts believe will be the focus of new worldwide growth.<ref name=CNY2007>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/pdf/ny_report_final.pdf|title=Sustaining New York's and the US' Global Financial Services Leadership|publisher=City of New York|author=McKinsey & Company and the New York City Economic Development Corporation|access-date=2 May 2015|date=2007}}</ref>{{rp|39–49}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Backgrounder: The Shifting Capital of Capital|url=https://www.nytimes.com/cfr/world/slot1_20070712.html|access-date=25 May 2015|work=The New York Times|date=12 July 2007}}</ref> One source described New York as extending its lead as the world's centre of finance in September 2018; according to [[Company:Thomson Reuters|Reuters]], the think-tank ''New Financial'' concluded the "raw" value of domestic and international financial activity like managing assets and issuing equity underscored the position of New York as the world's leading financial centre.<ref name= NYCDominantFinancialCenter>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-survey-markets/united-states-top-britain-second-in-financial-activity-think-tank-idUSKCN1LK2TM|title=United States top, Britain second in financial activity: think-tank |author=Huw Jones|publisher=Thomson Reuters|date=4 September 2018|access-date=5 September 2018|quote=Think-tank New Financial’s study, which focuses on the "raw" value of actual domestic and international financial activity like managing assets and issuing equity, underscored the overall dominance of New York as the world’s top financial center.}}</ref><section end=NYC-paragraph1 />

:<section begin=NYC-paragraph2 />New York City remains the largest centre for trading in public equity and [[Finance:Security|debt]] capital markets, driven in part by the size and financial development of the U.S. economy.<ref name=CNY2007 />{{rp|31–32}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bis.org/statistics/r_qa1306_hanx18.pdf|title=Total debt securities|date=June 2013|publisher=[[Organization:Bank for International Settlements|Bank for International Settlements]]|access-date=23 May 2015}}</ref> The NYSE and [[Company:NASDAQ|NASDAQ]] are the two [[Finance:List of stock exchanges#Major stock exchanges|largest stock exchanges]] in the world.<ref name=WSE2011 /> New York also leads in hedge fund management; private equity; and the monetary volume of [[Social:Mergers and acquisitions|mergers and acquisitions]]. Several investment banks and [[Social:Investment management|investment managers]] headquartered in New York City are important participants in other financial centres.<ref name=CNY2007 />{{rp|34–35}} The New York Federal Reserve Bank, the largest within the [[Finance:Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve System]], regulates financial institutions and implements U.S. monetary policy,<ref name="RS01">{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29127316/the_great_american_bubble_machine/6| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406021652/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29127316/the_great_american_bubble_machine/6| title=The Great American Bubble Machine| magazine=Rolling Stone| page=6| archive-date=6 April 2010| access-date=27 August 2015| author=Matt Taibbi| date=13 July 2009| url-status=dead| author-link=Matt Taibbi}}</ref><ref>[http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/index.html/ "About the Fed."] New York Federal Reserve Web page. Footnote upgraded/confirmed 30 March 2010.</ref> which in turn influences the world's economy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/business/economy/will-the-fed-raise-interest-rates-anytime-soon-investors-say-no.html?ref=topics&_r=0|title=Bets That the Fed Will Delay Interest Rate Rise Could Be Premature|first=Binyamin|last=Appelbaum|work=The New York Times|date=25 August 2015|access-date=27 August 2015|quote=In addition, the International Monetary Fund has expressed concern that the Fed, by raising rates, could increase pressure on developing economies.|postscript=none}}; {{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-carney-idUSKCN1T7132|title=Rich economies must heed policy impact on emerging nations: Carney|date=6 June 2019|work=Reuters|access-date=8 June 2019|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Goldman Sachs Sees Limited Impact of Fed Rate Hike on Emerging Markets|url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/09/18/goldman-sachs-sees-limited-impact-fed-rate-hike-on-emerging-markets/|access-date=23 September 2015|work=Fox Business|date=18 September 2015|quote=emerging market assets will be driven primarily by local fundamentals|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923124413/http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/09/18/goldman-sachs-sees-limited-impact-fed-rate-hike-on-emerging-markets/|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The three major global credit rating agencies – Standard and Poor's, Moody's Investor Service, and Fitch Ratings – are headquartered or co–headquartered in New York City, with Fitch being co–headquartered in London.<section end=NYC-paragraph2 />

[[File:Paternoster Square.jpg|thumb|right|The London Stock Exchange in the City of London, the largest exchange in Europe by capitalisation<ref name=WSE2011>{{cite web|title=Top 10 Stock Exchanges in the world|url=http://www.world-stock-exchanges.net/top10.html|publisher=World Stock Exchanges|access-date=24 May 2015|date=2011|postscript=none}}; {{cite web|title=UK's financial services trade surplus biggest in the world, dwarfing its nearest rivals|url=http://www.thecityuk.com/media/latest-news-from-thecityuk/uk-s-financial-services-trade-surplus-biggest-in-the-world-dwarfing-its-nearest-rivals/|publisher=TheCityUK|access-date=5 June 2015|date=3 July 2014}}</ref>]]

* '''London'''. <section begin=London-paragraph1 />London has been a leading international financial centre [[Finance:Global financial system#History of international financial architecture|since the 19th century]], acting as a centre of lending and investment around the world.<ref name="Cassis 2006">{{Cite book | title = Capitals of Capital: A History of International Financial Centres, 1780–2005 | author = Cassis, Youssef | year = 2006 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge, UK | isbn = 978-0-511-33522-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=geEzo9s9QbUC&pg=PA75}}</ref>{{rp|74–75}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Michie|first1=Ranald|title=The Global Securities Market: A History|date=2006|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0191608599|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fPugmGG-ircC&pg=PT149}}</ref>{{rp|149}} English contract law was adopted widely for international finance, with legal services provided in London.<ref>{{cite web|title=UK leading the way as an international centre for legal services and dispute resolution|url=http://www.thecityuk.com/media/latest-news-from-thecityuk/uk-leading-the-way-as-an-international-centre-for-legal-services-and-dispute-resolution/|publisher=TheCityUK|access-date=5 June 2015|date=30 January 2014|quote=English law remains one of our most significant exports and continues to ensure the UK plays a leading role in global commerce|postscript=none|archive-date=11 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711143535/http://www.thecityuk.com/media/latest-news-from-thecityuk/uk-leading-the-way-as-an-international-centre-for-legal-services-and-dispute-resolution/|url-status=dead}}; {{cite web|title=English Common Law is the most widespread legal system in the world|url=http://www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/about-us/press-releases/061108.pdf|publisher=Sweet & Maxwell|access-date=16 December 2013|date=November 2008}}</ref> Financial institutions located there provided services internationally such as Lloyd's of London (founded 1686) for insurance and the [[Finance:Baltic Exchange|Baltic Exchange]] (founded 1744) for shipping.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clark|first1=David|title=Urban world/global city|date=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415320979|pages=174–176|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J21sBa6n46gC&pg=PA174|postscript=none}}; {{cite book|last1=Shubik|first1=Martin|title=The theory of money and financial institutions|date=1999|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0262693110|page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m9BWUe9xveQC&pg=PA8|postscript=none}}; {{cite web|title=The value of Europe's international financial centres to the EU economy|url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/value-europes-international-financial-centres-to-eu.aspx|date=6 July 2011|access-date=23 May 2015|publisher=City of London and TheCityUK|author=Europe Economics|page=6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525100706/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/value-europes-international-financial-centres-to-eu.aspx|archive-date=25 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the 20th century London played an important role in the development of new financial products such as the [[Finance:Eurodollar|Eurodollar]] and Eurobonds in the 1960s, international asset management and international equities trading in the 1980s, and derivatives in the 1990s.<ref name="Cameron & Bovykin 1991" />{{rp|13}}<ref name =Roberts2008>{{cite news|last=Roberts|first=Richard|title=The City: A Guide to London's Global Financial Centre |year = 2008 |newspaper=The Economist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J0vl6CltQjEC&q=the%20city%20richard%20roberts&pg=PA2|isbn=9781861978585}}</ref>{{rp|6,12–13,88–9}}<ref name=Michie2012>{{cite web|title=The City of London as a Global Financial Centre: An historical and comparative perspective|first=Ranald|last = Michie|date=July 2012|url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ihrr/tippingpoints/CityofLondonasaGlobalFinancialCentre-TPAnnualConference2012-RanaldMichie.ppt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707051802/http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ihrr/tippingpoints/CityofLondonasaGlobalFinancialCentre-TPAnnualConference2012-RanaldMichie.ppt|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2015}}</ref><section end=London-paragraph1 />

:<section begin=London-paragraph2 />London continues to maintain a leading position as a financial centre in the 21st century, and maintains the largest trade surplus in financial services around the world.<ref>{{cite web|title=UK's financial services trade surplus biggest in the world, dwarfing its nearest rivals|url=http://www.thecityuk.com/media/latest-news-from-thecityuk/uk-s-financial-services-trade-surplus-biggest-in-the-world-dwarfing-its-nearest-rivals/|publisher=TheCityUK|access-date=5 June 2015|date=3 July 2014|postscript=none|archive-date=11 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711095621/http://www.thecityuk.com/media/latest-news-from-thecityuk/uk-s-financial-services-trade-surplus-biggest-in-the-world-dwarfing-its-nearest-rivals/|url-status=dead}}; {{cite web|title=London's competitive place in the UK and global economies|url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/londons-competitive-place-uk-and-global-economies.aspx|publisher=City of London|author=Oxford Economics|access-date=24 May 2015|date=20 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427055149/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/londons-competitive-place-uk-and-global-economies.aspx|archive-date=27 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=London's Low Taxes Lure Foreign Companies as Banks Retrench|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-17/london-luring-foreign-companies-with-low-taxes-as-banks-retrench.html|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=22 December 2013|postscript=none}}; {{cite web|title=KPMG's Annual Tax Competitiveness Survey 2013|url=http://www.kpmg.com/uk/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/pages/tax-competitiveness-survey-2013.aspx|publisher=KPMG|access-date=22 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=London Is Eating New York's Lunch|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/magazine/how-london-surpassed-wall-street.html?_r=0|access-date=24 May 2015|work=The New York Times Magazine|date=29 February 2012}}</ref> However, like New York, it faces new competitors including fast-rising eastern financial centres such as Hong Kong and Shanghai. London is the largest centre for [[Finance:Derivatives market|derivatives market]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=Triennial Central Bank Survey: OTC interest rate derivatives turnover in April 2013|url=http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfx13ir.pdf|publisher=Bank for International Settlements|access-date=20 May 2015|page=11|date=September 2013}}</ref> [[Finance:Foreign exchange market|foreign exchange market]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=Triennial Central Bank Survey: Foreign exchange turnover in April 2013|url=http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfx13fx.pdf|publisher=Bank for International Settlements|access-date=23 May 2015|page=14|date=September 2013}}</ref> [[Finance:Money market|money market]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=International money market instruments – all issuers By residence of issuer|url=http://www.bis.org/statistics/r_qa1503_hanx14a.pdf|publisher=Bank for International Settlements|access-date=23 May 2015|date=March 2015}}</ref> issuance of international [[Finance:Security#Debt and equity|debt securities]],<ref>{{cite web|title=International debt securities – all issuers All maturities, by residence of issuer|url=http://www.bis.org/statistics/r_qa1503_hanx11a.pdf|publisher=Bank for International Settlements|access-date=23 May 2015|date=March 2015}}</ref> international [[Finance:Insurance|insurance]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Key Facts about the UK as an International Financial Centre report 2015|url=https://www.thecityuk.com/assets/2015/Reports-PDF/Key-Facts-about-international-financial-and-related-professional-services-2015.pdf|publisher=TheCityUK|access-date=9 October 2016|page=3|date=21 July 2015}}{{Dead link|date=December 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> trading in gold, silver and base metals through the [[Chemistry:London bullion market|London bullion market]] and [[Organization:London Metal Exchange|London Metal Exchange]],<ref>{{cite news|title=LBMA says banks back its plan to change London gold market|url=https://www.ft.com/content/b9805af6-653b-11e6-8310-ecf0bddad227|access-date=9 October 2016|work=Financial Times|date=18 August 2016|postscript=none}}; {{cite web|title=A guide to The London Bullion Market Association|url=http://www.lbma.org.uk/assets/market/gdl/LBMA%20Brochure%20Final%2020150501.pdf|publisher=London Bullion Market Association|access-date=9 October 2016|date=May 2015|postscript=none}}; {{cite web|title=London Metal Exchange|url=http://www.lme.com|publisher=The London Metal Exchange|access-date=9 October 2016}}</ref> and international bank lending.<ref name=Roberts2008 />{{rp|2}}<ref name= Michie2012 /><ref>{{cite web|title=External loans and deposits of banks|url=http://www.bis.org/statistics/r_qa1506_hanx3a.pdf|publisher=Bank for International Settlements|access-date=23 May 2015|date=April 2015}}</ref> London has the second largest concentration of hedge funds (847 according to HedgeLists.com). London benefits from its position between the Asia and U.S. time zones,<ref>{{cite web|title=London Wants to Tap Chinese Currency Market|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/london-wants-to-tap-chinese-currency-market/?_r=0|publisher=The New York Times Deal Book|access-date=13 December 2014|date=16 January 2012}}</ref> and benefited from its location within the [[Social:European Union|European Union]],<ref name=EGOV2016>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/587384/IPOL_BRI(2016)587384_EN.pdf|title=Brexit: the United Kingdom and EU financial services|date=9 December 2016|publisher=Economic Governance Support Unit of the European Parliament|access-date=2 March 2018}}</ref>{{rp|1}} although this ended on 31 January 2020 when the United Kingdom left the European Union following the Brexit referendum of 2016. As well as the [[Company:London Stock Exchange|London Stock Exchange]], the Bank of England, the second oldest central bank, is in London, although the European Banking Authority moved to Paris after Brexit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eba.europa.eu/contacts|title = Contacts|date = 19 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/eba-seeks-more-time-in-london-after-brexit-20180108|title=EBA seeks more time in London after Brexit|access-date=5 April 2018|date=8 January 2018|work=Financial News}}</ref><section end=London-paragraph2 />

[[File:TokyoStockExchange1144.jpg|thumb|right|The Tokyo Stock Exchange, located in Nihonbashi-Kabutocho, Tokyo, {{wipe|Japan}}, is the largest stock exchange in Asia.<ref name=WSE2011 />]]

* '''Tokyo'''. One report suggests that Japanese authorities are working on plans to transform Tokyo but have met with mixed success, noting that "initial drafts suggest that Japan's economic specialists are having trouble figuring out the secret of the Western financial centres' success."<ref name=twsJanO11>{{cite news
 |author= Martin Fackler
 |title= Tokyo Seeking a Top Niche in Global Finance 
 |work= The New York Times: World Business
 |date= 16 November 2007
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/business/worldbusiness/16capital.html
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref> Efforts include more English-speaking restaurants and services and the building of many new office buildings in Tokyo, but more powerful stimuli such as lower taxes have been neglected and a relative aversion to finance remains prevalent in Japan.<ref name=twsJanO11/> Tokyo emerged as a major financial centre in the 1980s as the Japanese economy became one of the largest in the world.<ref name="Cassis 2006" />{{rp|1}} As a financial centre, Tokyo has good links with New York City and London.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sassen, Saskia|title=The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo|year=2001|publisher=Princeton University Press|edition=2nd|author-link=Saskia Sassen}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Japan-U.S. Symposium|url=http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/about/pifs/symposia/japan/|website=Harvard Law School, Program on International Financial Systems, Japan-U.S. Symposium|access-date=30 May 2015}}</ref>

===Major IMF OFCs===

These centres appear in all FSF–IMF lists of OFCs and, bar the Caribbean OFCs of the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and Bermuda, represent all the major OFCs.  Some also appear as RFCs in various lists, particularly Hong Kong, and Singapore.  They also appear on most [[Finance:Tax haven#Tax haven lists|lists of major tax havens]], and on lists of the largest [[Finance:Conduit and Sink OFCs|Conduit and Sink OFCs]] in the world.

* '''Amsterdam'''. Amsterdam is well known for the size of its pension fund market. It is also a centre for banking and trading activities.<ref>{{cite web|title=The financial and business sector in the Amsterdam metropolitan area.|url=http://www.iamsterdam.com/~/media/PDF/FD%20Brochure.pdf|publisher=Amsterdam Business|access-date=23 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705003148/http://www.iamsterdam.com/~/media/PDF/FD%20Brochure.pdf|archive-date=5 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Amsterdam was a prominent financial centre in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries and several of the innovations developed there were transported to London.<ref name=Roberts2008 />{{rp|24}}  In June 2017, a study published in ''Nature'' ranked the Netherlands as the world's largest [[Finance:Conduit and Sink OFCs|Conduit OFC]], a term use to describe the re-routing of fund flows to tax havens.<ref name="xx"/><ref name="guar">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/25/netherlands-and-uk-are-biggest-channels-for-corporate-tax-avoidance|title=Netherlands and UK are biggest channels for corporate tax avoidance|newspaper=The Guardian|date=25 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/07/the-netherlands-is-worlds-biggest-conduit-to-offshore-tax-havens-research/ | title=The Netherlands is world's biggest conduit to offshore tax havens: research|publisher=Dutch News NL| date=24 July 2017}}</ref> Additionally, after the UK's departure from the European Union, Amsterdam became Europe's largest share trading centre.<ref>{{cite news|title=Amsterdam ousts London as Europe's top share trading hub|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3dad4ef3-59e8-437e-8f63-f629a5b7d0aa|access-date=9 October 2016|work=[[Social:Financial Times|Financial Times]]|date=10 February 2021}}</ref>
* '''Dublin'''. Dublin (via its [[Finance:International Financial Services Centre, Dublin|International Financial Services Centre]], "IFSC"), is a specialised financial services centre with a focus on fund administration and domiciling, fund management, custodial activities and aircraft leasing.<ref>{{cite news|title=High-flying aviation industry one of Ireland's biggest successes|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/aviation-finance/high-flying-aviation-industry-one-of-ireland-s-big-successes-1.3760055|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=24 January 2019}}</ref> It is the largest securitisation location in the EU-27,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ireland-is-top-eurozone-jurisdiction-for-secretive-spvs-36047198.html|title=Ireland is top Eurozone jurisdiction for SPVs|newspaper=Irish Independent|date=19 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ireland's IFSC (International Financial Services Centre)|url=http://www.financedublin.com/the_ifsc_story.php|publisher=Finance Dublin|access-date=23 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Key Facts|url=http://www.ifscireland.ie/facts-figures|publisher=IFSC Ireland|access-date=23 May 2015}}</ref> and the second largest domicile for investment funds, particularly alternative investment funds, after Luxembourg. Many of the funds domiciled and managed in Dublin are at the instruction of investment managers in larger Asset Management jurisdictions such as London, Frankfurt, New York and Luxembourg.<ref name=EGOV2016/>{{rp|5–6}}  Dublin's advanced BEPS tax tools, for example the double Irish, the [[Finance:Double Irish arrangement#Replacement by Single Malt|single malt]], and the [[Finance:Double Irish arrangement#Backstop of capital allowances|capital allowances for intangible assets ("CAIA")]] tools, have led the economist [[Biography:Gabriel Zucman|Gabriel Zucman]] to judge Ireland to be the largest corporate tax haven by virtue of its use as a conduit OFC.<ref name="gabrielzucmanx">{{cite web|url=http://gabriel-zucman.eu/|title=The Missing Profits of Nations|page=31|author1=Gabriel Zucman|author2=Thomas Torslov|author3=Ludvig Wier|quote=Table 2: Shifted Profits: Country-by-Country Estimates (2015)|publisher=[[Organization:National Bureau of Economic Research|National Bureau of Economic Research]], Working Papers|date=June 2018|author1-link=Gabriel Zucman}}</ref><ref name="zuc10">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland-is-the-world-s-biggest-corporate-tax-haven-say-academics-1.3528401?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fireland-is-the-world-s-biggest-corporate-tax-haven-say-academics-1.3528401|title=Ireland is the world's biggest corporate 'tax haven', say academics|quote=Study claims State shelters more multinational profits than the entire Caribbean|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=13 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="zuc11">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/corporations-push-profits-into-tax-havens-as-countries-struggle-in-pursuit-study-says-1528634659|title=Zucman:Corporations Push Profits into Corporate Tax Havens as Countries Struggle in Pursuit, Gabrial Zucman Study Says|quote=Such profit shifting leads to a total annual revenue loss of $200 billion globally|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=10 June 2018}}</ref>
* '''Hong Kong'''. As a financial centre, Hong Kong has strong links with London and New York City.<ref name=Wojcik2011 />{{rp|10–11}} It developed its financial services industry while a British territory and its present legal system, defined in Hong Kong Basic Law, is based on English law. In 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, retaining its laws and a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years after the transfer. Recently, this formula has been threatened by interference of the Chinese central government (see also Hong Kong national security law and 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill). Most of the world's 100 largest banks have a presence in the city.<ref name=twsJanO63>{{cite news
 |author= (Xinhua)
 |title= HK, Shenzhen promote financial industry in NY
 |work= China Daily
 |date= 2 June 2009 |url= http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-06/02/content_7964085.htm
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref> Hong Kong is a leading location for initial public offerings, competing with New York City,<ref>{{cite news|title=Hong Kong's Likely Return as Top IPO Market Not All Rosy|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kongs-likely-return-as-top-ipo-market-not-all-rosy-1466738959|access-date=9 October 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=23 June 2016}}</ref> and also for merger and acquisition activity.<ref>{{cite news|title=China to Wall Street's Deal Makers: We Don't Need You|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-wall-streets-deal-makers-we-dont-need-you-1456050602|access-date=9 October 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=21 February 2016}}</ref>

* '''Luxembourg'''. Luxembourg is a specialised financial services centre that is the largest location for investment fund domiciliation in Europe, and second in the world after the United States. Many of the funds domiciled in Luxembourg are managed in London.<ref name=EGOV2016/>{{rp|5–6}} Luxembourg is the leading private banking centre in the Eurozone and the largest [[Finance:Captive insurance|captive]] reinsurance centre in Europe. 143 banks from 28 countries are established in Luxembourg.<ref>{{cite web|title=Number of banks per country of origin|url=http://www.cssf.lu/en/supervision/banks/statistics/monthly-statistics/number-of-banks-per-country-of-origin/|publisher=Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier|access-date=25 May 2015|date=30 April 2015}}</ref> The country is also the third largest [[Finance:Renminbi|renminbi]] centre in the world by numbers, in certain activities such as deposits, loans, bond listing and investment funds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.investmenteurope.net/investment-europe/news/2348962/luxembourg-third-largest-rmb-centre-worldwide|title=Luxembourg third largest RMB centre worldwide|date=9 July 2014|publisher=Investment Europe|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> Three of the largest Chinese banks have their European hub in Luxembourg (ICBC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank).
* '''Singapore'''. With its strong links with London,<ref name="Independent20170821">{{cite news|title=Singapore may renegotiate EU trade deal after Brexit removes British markets|url=http://www.independent.ie/business/brexit/singapore-may-renegotiate-eu-trade-deal-after-brexit-removes-british-markets-36052157.html|access-date=21 August 2017|work=The Independent|date=21 August 2017}}</ref> Singapore has developed into the Asia region's largest centre for foreign exchange and commodity trading, as well as a growing wealth management hub.<ref>{{cite news|title=Singapore jostles with Hong Kong for financial crown|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b18372a6-5297-11e4-a236-00144feab7de.html#axzz3bAq4UPNT|access-date=25 May 2015|work=The Financial Times|date=16 October 2014}}</ref> Other than Tokyo, it is one of the main centres for fixed income trading in Asia. However, the market capitalisation of its stock exchange has been falling since 2014 and several major companies plan to delist.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brand Singapore Takes a Beating|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/singapore-exchange-suffers-as-listing-loses-luster-globally-1469448789|access-date=9 October 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=25 July 2016}}</ref>
* '''Zurich'''. Zurich is a significant centre for banking, asset management including provision of alternative investment products, and insurance.<ref>{{cite web|title=Portrait of the Zurich financial centre|url=http://www.finanzplatz-zuerich.ch/Finanzplatz/Porträts/tabid/143/language/en-US/Default.aspx|publisher=Finanzplatz Zurich|access-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508023354/http://www.finanzplatz-zuerich.ch/Finanzplatz/Portr%C3%A4ts/tabid/143/language/en-US/Default.aspx|archive-date=8 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Zurich banking centre|url=http://www.sz.ch/documents/zurich_banking_centre.pdf|publisher=Zurich Banking Association|access-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525101314/http://www.sz.ch/documents/zurich_banking_centre.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Financial Services|url=http://www.awa.zh.ch/internet/volkswirtschaftsdirektion/awa/en/standortfoerderung/cluster/finanzdienstleistungen.html|publisher=Canton of Zurich|access-date=24 May 2015}}</ref> Since Switzerland is not a member of the [[Social:European Union|European Union]], Zurich is not directly subject to EU regulation.

===Major IMF RFCs===

In some lists, RFCs such as Paris, Frankfurt, Chicago, and Shanghai appear as IFCs, however, they do not appear in all lists. They are certainly major RFCs.

* '''Chicago'''. The Illinois city has the "world's largest [exchange-traded] derivatives market" since the [[Company:Chicago Mercantile Exchange|Chicago Mercantile Exchange]] and the [[Organization:Chicago Board of Trade|Chicago Board of Trade]] merged in 2007, under the [[Company:CME Group|CME Group]].<ref name=twsJanO46>{{cite news
 |author= Heather Timmons
 |title= New York Isn't the World's Undisputed Financial Capital 
 |work= The New York Times
 |date= 27 October 2006
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/27/business/worldbusiness/27london.html
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref>

* '''Dubai'''. The second largest emirate in the [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]] is a growing centre for finance in the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]], including for Islamic finance. Its emergence as a financial centre is relatively recent, although commercial banking activity in the UAE became established in the second half of the 20th century (the first commercial bank in Dubai was British Bank of the Middle East in 1946, and the first domestic commercial bank was the National Bank of Dubai established in 1963).<ref>{{cite web|title=Dubai as an international financial centre|url=http://www.cassknowledge.com/sites/default/files/article-attachments/Dubai-international-financial-centre_0.pdf|publisher=Cass Business School|access-date=2 June 2015|date=September 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Frankfurt Am Main-Neue Boerse von Suedosten-20120222.jpg|thumb|The Frankfurt Stock Exchange building, which dates back to 1879<ref name=DBHistory>{{cite web|title=History of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange – Patricians, princes and commodity markets: 18th – 19th century|url=https://deutsche-boerse.com/dbg/dispatch/en/kir/dbg_nav/about_us/20_FWB_Frankfurt_Stock_Exchange/70_History_of_the_FWB?horizontal=page2_DB_SP_FWB-Historie18-19|publisher=Deutsche Börse|access-date=11 July 2015}}</ref>]]

* '''Frankfurt'''. Frankfurt attracts many foreign banks which maintain offices in the city. It is the seat of {{lang|de|Deutsche Börse|italic=no}}, one of the leading stock exchanges and derivatives markets operators, and the European Central Bank, which sets the monetary policy for the single European currency, the [[Finance:Euro|euro]]; in addition, in 2014 the European Central Bank became the central institution of European Banking Supervision for the 18 countries which form the Eurozone. It is also the seat of Deutsche Bundesbank, the German central bank,<ref>{{cite web|title=Frankfurt as a Financial Centre|url=http://www.ft.com/reports/frankfurt-financial-centre|work=The Financial Times|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> as well as of EIOPA, the EU's supervisory authority for insurances and occupational pension systems.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://eiopa.europa.eu/Contacts|title = Contacts|website = EIOPA: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority}}</ref>

:Frankfurt has been the financial centre of Germany since the second half of the 20th century as it was before the mid-19th century. Berlin held the position during the intervening period, focusing on lending to European countries while London focused on lending to the Americas and Asia.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Julia Bersch, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and Munich Graduate School of Economics, Graciela L. Kaminsky|title=Financial globalization in the 19th century: Germany as a financial center|url=http://home.gwu.edu/~graciela/HOME-PAGE/RESEARCH-WORK/WORKING-PAPERS/Germany-center.pdf|date=September 2008|pages=1, 4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jeske|first1=Carl-Ludwig Holtfrerich.|last2=Metzler|first2=Friedrich von|title=Frankfurt as a financial centre : from medieval trade fair to European banking centre|date=1999|publisher=Beck|location=München|isbn=9783406456718|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UAY9ugffPXQC}}</ref>

[[File:Bolsa de Madrid edited.jpg|thumb|right|Bolsa de Madrid. Madrid's stock exchange is the world's second-largest in number of listed companies.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Documents/research-2011/The%20value%20of%20europes%20international%20financial%20centres%20to%20the%20EU%20economy.pdf|title=Value of EU's Financial Centres|author=Europe Economics|publisher=City of London Corporation and TheCityUK|date=July 2011|access-date=11 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818121711/https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Documents/research-2011/The%20value%20of%20europes%20international%20financial%20centres%20to%20the%20EU%20economy.pdf|archive-date=18 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

* '''Madrid'''. Madrid is the headquarters to the Spanish company Bolsas y Mercados Españoles, which owns the four stock exchanges in Spain, the largest being the Bolsa de Madrid. Trading of equities, derivatives and fixed income securities are linked through the Madrid-based electronic Spanish Stock Market Interconnection System (SIBE), handling more than 90% of all financial transactions. Madrid ranks fourth in European equities market capitalisation, and Madrid's stock exchange is second in terms of number of listed companies, just behind New York Stock Exchange (NYSE plus NASDAQ).<ref name="auto"/> As a financial centre, Madrid has extensive links with Latin America and acts as a gateway for many Latin American financial firms to access the EU banking and financial markets.<ref>{{cite web|title=The value of Europe's international financial centres to the EU economy|url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/value-europes-international-financial-centres-to-eu.aspx|date=6 July 2011|access-date=23 May 2015|publisher=City of London and TheCityUK|author=Europe Economics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525100706/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/value-europes-international-financial-centres-to-eu.aspx|archive-date=25 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{rp|6–7}}

[[File:Palais Mezzanotte - Milan (IT25) - 2022-09-03 - 3.jpg|thumb|The seat of Borsa Italiana, Palazzo Mezzanotte]]
* '''Milan'''. Italy's main centre of banking and finance. It hosts the [[Finance:Borsa Italiana|Borsa Italiana]] stock exchange, one of the larger stock exchanges in Europe, which is now part of [[Company:Euronext|Euronext]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Sako|editor1-first=Musterd|editor2-last=Murie|editor2-first=Alan|title=Making Competitive Cities|date=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1444390421|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-QPyvfjWdYC&pg=PA245}}</ref>{{rp|245}}
* '''Paris'''. Alongside equity trading on the Paris Stock Exchange, there is futures and options trading, insurance, corporate banking and asset management taking place in Paris.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paris, the Euro Area's leading financial centre|url=http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy-1/economic-diplomacy/facts-about-france/one-figure-one-fact/article/1-paris-the-euro-area-s-leading|publisher=French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development|access-date=24 May 2015}}</ref> The city is home to the Banque de France and the European Securities and Markets Authority. Paris has been a major financial centre since the 19th century.<ref name="Cassis 2006" />{{rp|1}} The European Banking Authority is also moving to Paris in March 2019 following Brexit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/relocation-london-agencies-brexit/|title=Relocation of the UK-based EU agencies – Consilium|website=www.consilium.europa.eu|language=en|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>
* '''Seoul'''. {{wipe|South Korea}}'s capital has developed significantly as a financial centre since the late-2000s recession. In 2009, Seoul ranked 53rd among global financial centres; by 2012, Seoul had risen to number 9.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koreasociety.org/corporate/seouls_rise_as_a_global_financial_center.html|title=Seoul's Rise as a Global Financial Center|date=21 September 2012|publisher=The Korea Society|access-date=25 May 2015|archive-date=10 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210151839/http://www.koreasociety.org/corporate/seouls_rise_as_a_global_financial_center.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Seoul has continued to build office space with the completion of the International Financial Center Seoul in 2013. It ranked 7th in the 2015 [[Finance:Global Financial Centres Index|Global Financial Centres Index]], recording the highest growth in rating among the top ten cities.
* '''Shanghai'''. Official efforts have been directed to making Pudong a financial leader by 2010.<ref name=twsJanO56>{{cite news
 |author= Seth Faison
 |title= Hong Kong Continues to Eclipse An Economic Rebirth in Shanghai
 |work= The New York Times: Business Day 
 |date= 13 December 1996
|url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E6DC143EF930A25751C1A960958260
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref> Efforts during the 1990s were mixed, but in the early 21st century, Shanghai gained ground. Factors such as a "protective banking sector" and a "highly restricted capital market" have held the city back, according to a 2009 opinion piece in ''China Daily''.<ref name=twsJanO51>{{cite news
 |author= Hong Liang
 |title= Software for a financial center here
 |work= China Daily
 |date= 4 May 2009
|url= http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2009-05/04/content_7740527.htm
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref> Shanghai has done well in terms of market capitalisation but it needs to "attract an army of money managers, lawyers, accountants, actuaries, brokers and other professionals, Chinese and foreign" to enable it to compete with New York and London.<ref name=twsJanO52>{{cite news
 |author= Dealbook
 |title= Shanghai Opens Doors to Financial World
 |work= The New York Times
 |date= 2 March 2010
|url= https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/shanghai-opens-doors-to-financial-world/
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref> China is generating tremendous new capital, which makes it easier to stage initial public offerings of state-owned companies in places like Shanghai.<ref name=twsJanO53a>{{cite news
 |author= Daniel Gross
 |title= The Capital of Capital No More? 
 |work= The New York Times: Magazine
 |date= 14 October 2007
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/magazine/14wallstreet-t.html
 |access-date= 15 January 2011
}}</ref>
[[File:SydneyCBDfromTower.jpg|thumb|Sydney's northern CBD serves as the financial and banking hub of the city.]]

* '''Sydney'''. Australia's most populous city is a financial and business services hub not only for Australia but for the [[Earth:Asia-Pacific|Asia-Pacific]] region. Sydney competes quite closely with other Asia Pacific hubs, however it concentrates a greater portion of Australian-based business in terms of clients and services. Sydney is home to two of Australia's four largest banks, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation, both headquartered in the Sydney CBD. Sydney is also home to 12 of the top 15 asset managers in Australia. Melbourne, on the other hand, tends to concentrate more of the Australian superannuation funds (pension funds). Sydney is using the large Barangaroo development project on its harbour to further position itself as an Asian Pacific hub.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sydney seeks to become Asia finance hub with Barangaroo project|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3be0beb4-cdcb-11e4-8760-00144feab7de.html#axzz4E6MAlTCm|work=Financial Times|date=22 March 2015}}</ref> Sydney is also home to the [[Company:Australian Securities Exchange|Australian Securities Exchange]] and an array of brokerage banks which are either headquartered or regionally based in Sydney, including Australia's largest investment bank Macquarie Group.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rethinking Sydney's role as an international financial centre|url=http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/11/25/china/rethinking-sydneys-role-international-financial-centre|access-date=25 May 2015|work=China Spectator|date=25 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sydney losing battle to become a leading financial centre|url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/sydney-losing-battle-to-become-a-leading-financial-centre-20140925-10lscq.html|access-date=25 May 2015|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=25 September 2014}}</ref>
* '''Toronto'''. The city is a leading market for Canada's largest financial institutions and large insurance companies. It has also become one of the fastest growing financial centres following the late-2000s recession, helped by the stability of the Canadian banking system. Most of the financial industry is concentrated along Bay Street, where the Toronto Stock Exchange is also located.<ref>{{cite web|title=Financial Services|url=http://www.investtoronto.ca/Business-Toronto/Key-Business-Sectors/Financial-Services.aspx|publisher=Invest Toronto|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref>
* '''Others'''. {{wipe|Mumbai}} is an emerging financial centre, which also provides international support services to London and other financial centres.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mumbai – An International Financial Centre|url=http://www.iimb.ernet.in/publications/review/march2008/mumbai-financial-centre|publisher=Indian Institute of Management Bangalore|access-date=24 May 2015|date=March 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Making Mumbai an International Financial Centre|url=http://www.finmin.nic.in/mifc/mifcreport.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Finance, Government of India|access-date=24 May 2015|date=2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Mumbai's dream of becoming an international financial centre may soon be a reality|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/mumbais-dream-of-becoming-an-international-financial-centre-may-soon-be-a-reality/articleshow/45017353.cms|access-date=24 May 2015|work=The Economic Times|date=3 November 2014}}</ref> Cities such as São Paulo, [[Place:Mexico City|Mexico City]] and [[Place:Johannesburg|Johannesburg]] and other "would-be hubs" lack liquidity and the "skills base", according to one source.<ref name=twsJanO54/> Financial industries in countries and regions such as the [[Earth:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]] and Malaysia require not only well-trained people but the "whole institutional infrastructure of laws, regulations, contracts, trust and disclosure" which takes time to happen.<ref name=twsJanO54/>

==History==
{{See also|History of banking}}Primitive financial centres started in the 11th century in the [[History:Kingdom of England|Kingdom of England]] at the annual fair of St. Giles and in the [[History:Kingdom of Germany|Kingdom of Germany]] at the Frankfurt autumn fair, then developed in medieval France during the Champaign Fairs.<ref name=Coispeau2016>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yor4DAAAQBAJ|title=Finance Masters: A Brief History of International Financial Centers in the Last Millennium|last=Coispeau|first=Olivier|date=10 August 2016|publisher=World Scientific|isbn=9789813108844|language=en}}</ref><ref name=DBHistory/>

=== Italian ''city-states'' ===
The first real international financial centre was the city state of Venice which slowly emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century.<ref name=Coispeau2016/> Tradable [[Finance:Bond|bonds]] as a commonly used type of security, were invented by the Italian city-states (such as Venice and Genoa) of the late medieval and early [[Philosophy:Renaissance|Renaissance]] periods while [[Place:Florence|Florence]] can be said to be the birthplace of [[Finance:Double-entry bookkeeping|double-entry bookkeeping]] from the publication and proliferation of the work of [[Biography:Luca Pacioli|Luca Pacioli]].

=== The Low Countries ===
{{Hatnote|For the origin and history of the bourse in general (not to be confused with the concept of the [[Finance:Stock exchange|stock exchange]] and [[Finance:Stock market|stock market]]), see [[Finance:Exchange (organized market)|exchange (organized market)]]}}

In the sixteenth century, the overall economic supremacy of the Italian city-states gradually waned, and the centre of financial activities in Europe shifted to the [[Place:Low Countries|Low Countries]], first to Bruges, and later to Antwerp and [[Place:Amsterdam|Amsterdam]] which acted as Entrepôt cities. They also became important centres of financial innovation, [[Finance:Capital accumulation|capital accumulation]] and investment.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} By the early 1800s, [[Place:London|London]] officially replaced Amsterdam as the world's leading financial centre.

===19th–21st centuries===

London and [[Place:Paris|Paris]] were the world's only prominent financial centres throughout most of the 19th century.<ref name="Cassis 2006" />{{rp|1}} After 1870, [[Place:Berlin|Berlin]] and {{wipe|New York City}} grew to become major financial centres mainly serving their national economies. An array of smaller international financial centres found market niches, such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich, and [[Place:Geneva|Geneva]]. London was the leading international financial centre in the four decades before [[Social:World War I|World War I]].<ref name="Cassis 2006" />{{rp|74–75}}<ref name="Cameron & Bovykin 1991" />{{rp|12–15}} Since then, New York and London have developed leading positions in different activities and some non-Western financial centres have grown in prominence, notably [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]], [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]] and [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]].

====Rise of London====

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====Rise of New York====

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====Rise of Asian centres====
In [[Earth:Asia|Asia]], Tokyo emerged as a major financial centre in the 1980s as the Japanese economy became one of the largest in the world.<ref name="Cassis 2006" />{{rp|1}} Hong Kong and Singapore developed soon after leveraging their links with London and Britain.<ref name=Wojcik2011 />{{rp|10–11}}<ref name=Independent20170821/> In the 21st century, other centres have grown including Toronto, Sydney, Seoul, Shanghai and [[Place:Astana|Astana]]. Astana International Financial Centre has become the fastest growing financial hub in Central Asia. Dubai has become a centre for finance in the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]], including for Islamic finance. The rapid rise of {{wipe|India}} has enabled Mumbai to become an emerging financial centre. India is also making an International Financial Centre GIFT City from scratch. GIFT city is now functional and has already won the crown of fastest emerging International Finance Centre of South Asia. Linked to the rise of these new IFCs, has seen the rise of "partner OFCs" (offshore tax-havens to which funds are routed), such as Taiwan (a major [[Finance:Conduit and Sink OFCs|Sink OFC]] for Asia, and 7th largest global Sink OFC), Mauritius (a major [[Finance:Conduit and Sink OFCs|Sink OFC]] for South Asia, especially India, and Africa, and the 9th largest global Sink OFC).

The private nationwide financial system in China was first developed by the Shanxi merchants, with the creation of so-called "draft banks". The first draft bank Rishengchang was created in 1823 in Pingyao. Some large draft banks had branches in Russia, Mongolia and Japan to facilitate the international trade. Throughout the nineteenth century, the central Shanxi region became the de facto financial centres of Qing China. With the fall of Qing Dynasty, the financial centres gradually shifted to [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]], mainly due to its geographical location at the estuary of the Yangtze River and to the control of customs in China. After the establishment of People's Republic of China, the financial centres in China today are [[Place:Beijing|Beijing]], [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]], and Shenzhen.

== See also ==
* [[Global city]]
* [[Finance:Corporate tax haven|Corporate tax haven]]
* [[Social:Financial capital|Financial capital]]
* Financial Development Index
* [[Finance:Geography of finance|Geography of finance]]
* [[Finance:Global financial system|Global financial system]]
* Nylonkong
* [[Finance:Conduit and Sink OFCs|Conduit and Sink OFCs]]
* [[Earth:Financial district|Financial district]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.thebanker.com/Banker-Data/International-Financial-Centres International Financial Centres] – news articles from ''The Banker'' magazine.
* [http://www.financialcentresinternational.com Financial Centres International] – a forum on developments in international financial services centres.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150510110340/http://www.longfinance.net/programmes/financial-centre-futures.html Financial Centre Futures] – research on global financial centres from the ''Z/Yen Group''.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Centre}}
[[Category:International finance]]
[[Category:Offshore finance]]
[[Category:Foreign exchange market]]

{{Sourceattribution|Financial centre}}