Dublin’s ranking as financial centre plummets to 70th place out of 83

Dublin’s ranking as a financial centre has plummeted, falling to 70th place out of 83, well below the 10th position it had five years ago and behind centres like Luxembourg, Guernsey, Cayman Islands and Gibraltar.

The 16th biannual Global Financial Centres Index, prepared by research group Z/Yen, placed Dublin ahead of only Madrid, Helsinki, Lisbon and Reykjavik among 23 western European centres polled.

Globally, New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore remained the top four financial centres, with New York just one point ahead of London, which suffered due to fears of Britain’s exit from the European Union. Zurich in Switzerland was the only other European city to make the top 10, with San Francisco, Boston and Washington DC ensuring US domination.

Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific region lost ground as financial centres while capitals in the Middle East and Africa continued to rise, as did leading centres in eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to the report.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh improved in the rankings while the top 10 Western European centres, including Zurich, Geneva and Frankfurt fell. In Africa, Johannesburg and Casablanca gained.

“The top centres are declining in relative competitiveness — two years ago there was a gap of about 140 points between 1st and 20th — that gap is now only 88,” said Mark Yeandle, associate director of the Z/Yen Group and the author of the GFCI.

The index also suggested offshore financial centres are continuing to struggle with reputation and regulation. Whilst offshore centres are well ahead of their position several years ago, they have all seen their ratings decline since the previous report. In particular, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man dropped significantly in the ranks.