Global Financial Centres Index
The GFCI rates about 117 financial centres twice a year on competitiveness, combining an online survey of finance professionals with 140+ quantitative indices. It is the most widely quoted ranking of financial centres and is used by city promotion agencies and the financial press.
- Reliability
- Grade B · 9/12
- Publisher
- Z/Yen Group (Long Finance)
- Ranks
- Financial centres
- Editions
- 40 since 2007
- Method
- Mixed
- How items get in
- Compiled by the publisher
- Status
- Active
Editions
| Edition | Published | Top of the list | On record |
|---|---|---|---|
| GFCI 40 | September 16, 2026 | New York | 116 of 117 |
| GFCI 39 | March 2026 | New York | 58 |
| GFCI 38 | September 2025 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 37 | March 2025 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 36 | September 2024 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 35 | March 2024 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 34 | September 2023 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 33 | March 2023 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 32 | September 2022 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 31 | March 2022 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 30 | September 2021 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 29 | March 2021 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 28 | September 2020 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 27 | March 2020 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 26 | September 2019 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 25 | March 2019 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 24 | September 2018 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 23 | March 2018 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 22 | September 2017 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 21 | March 2017 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 20 | September 2016 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 19 | March 2016 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 18 | September 2015 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 17 | March 2015 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 16 | September 2014 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 15 | March 2014 | New York | 1 |
| GFCI 14 | September 2013 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 13 | March 2013 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 12 | September 2012 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 11 | March 2012 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 10 | September 2011 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 9 | March 2011 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 8 | September 2010 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 7 | March 2010 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 6 | September 2009 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 5 | March 2009 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 4 | September 2008 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 3 | March 2008 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 2 | September 2007 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
| GFCI 1 | March 2007 | Not recorded | At the publisher |
How the ranking works
Ratings come from a factor assessment model: respondents rate centres they know in an online questionnaire (39,531 assessments from 6,147 respondents for GFCI 40, collected over a rolling 24-month window with older responses given reduced weight on a log scale), and a support vector machine predicts each centre's rating from 144 instrumental factors (indices from bodies such as the World Bank, OECD and EIU) covering areas such as telecommunications infrastructure, regulatory environment and rental costs. Respondents' ratings of their own home centre are excluded.
Centres need more than 150 assessments from other centres in 24 months to enter the index. Ratings are on a 1,000-point scale; small rating gaps separate many ranks, so rank changes can reflect a few points of movement.
Scores only: Indicator scores are published without a single overall rank. Centres cannot pay to be ranked; a centre enters the main index once it receives enough survey assessments (150 in the last 24 months), and centres below that threshold are tracked as associates. Z/Yen also publishes city-focused 'Focus On' reports (for example on Busan, Dubai and GIFT City), and financial-centre agencies such as Busan's contribute foreword text to the index report.
How far to trust it
Superscout grades every ranking on six criteria, each scored 0 to 2. Global Financial Centres Index scores 9 of 12, grade B.
- Transparency 2/2
- Model, instrumental factors and survey counts are published each edition.
- Independence 1/2
- No pay-to-rank, but ranked centres contribute forewords and are subjects of Z/Yen city-focused reports.
- Evidence 1/2
- Mix of perception survey and quantitative indices.
- Stability 2/2
- Same factor-assessment model since 2007 with incremental factor updates.
- Coverage 1/2
- About 117 centres that pass a survey threshold.
- Track record 2/2
- Forty editions since 2007.
History
Z/Yen first published the GFCI in March 2007. It has been published every March and September since; from 2015 it has been produced jointly with the China Development Institute in Shenzhen. Coverage grew to over 110 centres, and the report added sub-indices (for example FinTech) and profile classifications.
London held first place in most early editions; New York briefly led in GFCI 15 (March 2014) and has led continuously since GFCI 24 (September 2018).
How it is received
The GFCI is widely quoted by the financial press (Reuters, Bloomberg, the FT) and by centres promoting their rank. Because the ratings are driven by a perception survey of self-selected respondents, the index captures reputation as much as underlying activity; the GFCI 40 report itself quotes a contributor saying that 'reputation remains a key factor'. Z/Yen's city-focused reports and the agency forewords printed in the index are a potential independence concern for readers to weigh.
Strengths
- Long, uninterrupted twice-yearly series since 2007.
- Methodology and factor list are published.
- Combines survey data with 140+ quantitative indices.
- Excludes respondents' ratings of their home centre.
Weaknesses
- Survey-heavy: results depend on who responds and on reputation.
- Very small rating gaps drive large rank changes.
- Centre promotion agencies contribute to the report and to city-focused publications.
- Rolling 24-month survey window smooths and lags events.
Open questions
Facts not verified yet. They stay visible so they are not mistaken for settled facts.
- Publication days for GFCI 1 to 39 are not loaded; months are assigned from the regular March/September schedule confirmed for GFCI 24, 37, 39 and 40.
- Leaders for GFCI 1 to 14 and 16 to 23 not confirmed edition by edition (widely reported as London).
- The GFCI 40 centre at rank 117 lost its name in PDF extraction.
- Full tables for GFCI 1 to 39 not loaded; GFCI 39 is partial (58 centres).
- GFCI 15 leader rests on a Bloomberg headline cited by Wikipedia; the Bloomberg article was not opened.
Superscout describes Global Financial Centres Index independently from the publisher’s own pages and outside coverage, linked below. The rankings belong to Z/Yen Group (Long Finance).