Remember when London was the new New York? It was only a year ago that London was proclaimed the global capital of finance. But that story is so last year. New York City is back.
London’s reputation as the place where movers and shakers move and shake is suffering under the weight of recent financial scandals and political backlash against well-heeled financiers, the Financial Times reports today. A global survey of finance professionals undertaken by the City of London Corporation reveals the shift.
What’s dragging down London? The FT cites the collapse of Northern Rock as damaging the reputation of the City’s elite, but inventing SIVs and being responsible for some of the more exotic credit market related financial structures probably has not helped much either. Another downer: those Brit politicos keep threatening to raise taxes on private equity partners, hedge fund managers and non-domiciled residents. Meanwhile, the tax enforcers have been on something of an enforcement spree.
London’s edge over New York eroded [Financial Times]