London is the world’s leading financial centre: in 2006, the London Stock Exchange listed 419 companies compared to New York’s 174

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10 key facts about London’s financial services sector.

• World’s largest international banking centre: London has a 41% share of all European activity [1].  The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the most international of all stock exchanges. London leads the world in a range of financial services including foreign exchange trading, international equities trading, fund management, derivatives trading, Euro money derivatives trading, international insurance and bonds trading.
• Thriving retail banking: Lending to UK residents reached $3,200 billion at end June 2006, up 11% on a year earlier [2].
• World’s largest foreign exchange market: With a daily turnover of 31% of the global market - more than New York and Tokyo combined.  London is the leading centre for euro trading; more than 40% of the city’s foreign exchange trading involves the European currency [3].  Foreign currency trading volumes rose by 39% from April 2005 to April 2006, with a turnover of $1,030 per day [4] .
• GDP and employment powerhouse: The financial services sector contributes more than 10% to overall GDP [5] and $35 billion a year to Britain’s balance of payments [6].  It employs some 322,000 people - a third of all those working in the sector in the UK [7].
• Booming insurance sector: The UK insurance industry is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world. Net premium income is $310 billion. London is the world’s leading market for internationally traded insurance and reinsurance. Gross premiums on the London Market reached $49 billion in 2005 [8].
• World’s largest fund management centre: UK fund managers were responsible for a record $6.5 trillion of funds in 2005 – 25% of which were from overseas [9].
• Wealth management leader: The value of private client securities managed by banks, fund managers and stockbrokers in the UK totalled $510 billion in 2005 [10].
• One of the world’s largest pension sectors: Assets under management of 3,500 pension funds totalled $2,970 billion in 2006 [11] .
• World’s biggest over-the-counter derivatives market: London had 43% of global turnover in 2004. The London International Financial Futures Exchange (Euronext.LIFFE) is the world’s biggest electronic exchange [12].
• Dominant hedge fund base: London accounts for 79% of European hedge fund assets and 21% of the global market [13]. 

A London base is critical for financial services companies seeking to become a serious operator in the world’s markets.

Think London can help you exploit this growing sector; we have links with all the major financial services bodies including the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority.

Contact us to find out how we can help you grow.

[1] UKTI Annual Report. The City’s Importance to the EU Economy 2005, Centre for Economics and Business Research, February 2005
[2] IFSL, INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS IN THE UK, 2006
[3] IFSL, 2005
[4] Bank of England, Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee. As cited in Gail Rozenburg, ‘ London widens lead role for foreign exchange’. The Times (London: July 18 2006)
[5] Including financial and associated business services. Source: International Financial Services London (IFSL)
[6] The 2005 balance of payment for financial services is worth £18,394 million (excluding insurance services) or £19,092 million (including insurance services). Sources: 1) The Pink Book, Office for National Statistics, 2006 and 2) UK Financial Sector Net Exports 2006, IFSL July 2006
[7] DTZ analysis of Office of National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry data, 2006
[8] IFSL, 2006
[9] International Financial Markets in the UK, November 2006, IFSL
[10] International Private Wealth Management, Dec 2006, IFSL.
[11] City of London website, key facts
[12] IFSL, 2005
[13] International Financial Markets in the UK, November 2005, IFSL