Toronto has plunged in the rankings of global financial centres, now sitting one spot behind Vancouver in the latest edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI).
The index aims to assess the competitiveness of 108 financial centres around the world based on ratings for 138 factors from various institutions including the World Bank, the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations, along with responses to an online survey.
In this year’s rankings of global competitiveness, Toronto dropped 12 spots, falling to 23 from 11 last year.
Vancouver climbed two places in the rankings to 22, putting it just ahead of Bay Street.
The index’s rating for Toronto dropped 27 points from last year’s assessment, whereas Vancouver’s rating increased by one point — enough to bump it up two spots in the rankings.
The index experienced “a high level of volatility” this year, the index report said, noting that 26 cities saw their rankings rise by at least 10 places, and 23 cities dropped by 10 or more spots.
“This may reflect the uncertainty around international trade and the impact of geopolitical and local unrest with a flight to stability, and also reflects the importance of sustainable finance, with Western European centres benefitting, and centres with a legacy of brown finance losing ground,” it said.
New York remained the top-ranked financial centre in the world, even as its rating in the index dropped by 21 points.
London stayed in second place, as its rating fell by 31 points, and Tokyo climbed to third place, up from sixth spot in last year’s index (its rating dropped by 16 points compared to last year).
Conversely, Hong Kong fell from third place to sixth. Nine of the top 10 financial centres in the index had lower ratings this year.
Entering the top 10 this year were Geneva, Los Angeles and San Francisco, knocking out Dubai, Shenzhen and Sydney.
The index is compiled by London-based research firm Z/Yen Partners, and China Development Institute of Shenzhen.