London no longer world’s top financial centre , losing competitive advantage to US: Report

Research released by the City of London on Thursday claims that the British capital, London has lost ground to the world's top financial hub, in part because of the nation's exit from the EU, as reported by RT. 

Recent statistics from the report state that London and New York currently share the top spot among the world's major financial centres. Per the benchmarking data published by the City of London's governing body, it is the first year that London has not been at the pinnacle due to other financial centres' rapid expansion.

Specialists in the financial services sector are concerned regarding London's viability as a consequence of the Brexit referendum, which has prompted several companies to move their corporate headquarters to the EU. They asserted that as a result, London might lose its top spot.

'UK's competitive advantage is at risk,' says official at the City of London

“The UK remains one of the most open and global financial centres with better access to international markets than the US, France, or Japan. But our competitive advantage is at risk,” said Chris Hayward, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, RT reported. 

Statistics show that “the number of international companies listed in London is falling” and fewer international companies are choosing the UK capital for listing, opting instead for New York. Arm, a significant chip designer owned by the Irish building materials firm CRH and Japan's SoftBank, said recently that it would leave the UK and look to list in the US.

“The announcement demonstrates the need for the UK to make rapid progress in its regulatory and market reform agenda, including addressing the amount of risk capital available to drive growth,” Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, said, RT reported. 

As a result, the British government has proposed a number of reforms to the UK listings market and has advocated for deregulation in the banking and insurance industries to spur new business. There are worries that the US is more appealing for corporations to expand because of a less stringent corporate culture.