Sir Nicholas Goodison, former chairman of the London Stock Exchange, once summed up what he considered to be the city’s unassailable position as the world’s leading financial services centre in three bullet points: “It’s the skilled people, it’s the English language and it’s the time zone.”
There is arguably no more persuasive endorsement of this view than what emerged from a recent McKinsey report commissioned by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. According to the report, London is now ahead of New York in over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, “which drive broader trading flows and help foster the kind of continuous innovation that contributes heavily to financial services leadership”.