London Cutting Back on Banking Habit

London may be one of the world’s financial capitals, but, nowadays, Peru, Thailand and Indonesia are getting more out of their banking industries than the U.K. At least, that is, in terms of the contribution of profits to the economy.

The U.K. economy was more reliant on finance than most before the financial crisis and the collapse of profits in the sector has been more spectacular than elsewhere. Domestic U.K. bank profits were worth almost 4% of GDP in 2006; by 2016 they will be worth just 1%, according to Citigroup.

Amazingly, growth in Peru, Thailand and Indonesia means each country will have banks whose domestic profits make up a higher share of GDP in 2016 than in the U.K. Peru’s will be about 1.2%, Indonesia’s close to 1.5% and Thailand’s 2%. The financial sector in each country has grown dramatically from less than a 1% share in 2006.

Still, the developing market to watch in terms of growth of the financial sector is China. Profits there will hit 3% of GDP in 2016. With China now the world’s second-biggest economy, that’s a big number.