New York widens lead over London as finance hub - Duff & Phelps

LONDON (Reuters) - A growing majority of top bankers and asset managers consider New York as the world's top financial hub and expect Brexit to damage London's global standing, consultants Duff & Phelps said in a global regulatory outlook on Tuesday.

D&P's outlook surveyed senior financial professionals from 250 banks and asset managers in Europe, Asia and America, with 60% saying they view New York as the world's leading financial centre, up from 56% in 2020.

The survey said only 31% of respondents saw London as the top hub, down from 34% last year, with just over 50% saying that leaving the European Union will weaken London's position as a global financial centre.

Britain is under pressure to bolster the competitiveness of its financial services after 7,500 staff and over a trillion euros in assets left for the EU post Brexit.

Amsterdam has pushed ahead of London to become Europe's biggest share trading centre, grabbing some of London's derivatives trading activity along the way.

Nearly a fifth of respondents to the D&P survey now predict that China will become the top financial centre within five years.

Britain is still however the favourite regulatory regime for 31% of those surveyed, well ahead of 25% for both the United States and Singapore.

"This unique advantage could be the key to keeping London competitive, particularly as compliance costs for businesses continue to grow," said Monique Melis, a managing director at Duff & Phelps.

"As long as regulatory considerations continue to inform decision making, London has an opportunity to preserve its relevance," Melis said.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Jan Harvey)