Forget Brexit, London is still fintech king

London remains world fintech capital, new survey finds

London is still the most influential and important fintech centre, a new survey has found. 

Fears that Brexit would ruin London’s reputation as world fintech capital have been given a reality check, with an important new survey finding that London is still the most influential fintech centre.

According to the Z/Yen global financial centres index, which ranks the attractiveness of 108 financial centres, Brexit has done precious little to fade London’s fintech sheen.

“We now have an office in LA but we are also going into Europe now - London is the place to be for FinTech regardless of what they say about Brexit,” said an unnamed venture capitalist from New York.

New York might have benefitted from Brexit, the survey notes. But President Donald Trump’s stance on free trade has tempered any optimism.

“Interestingly, despite the ongoing Brexit negotiations, London only fell two points, the smallest decline in the top ten centres,” the report said.

“New York fell by 24 points, the largest fall in the top 15 centres, presumably due to fears over US trade.”

The EU might be the biggest loser if the UK leaves, the survey found, as some fear European taxes will rise without Britain’s liberalism countering the socialism of countries like France.