SURVEY: London will lose its crown as the world's global financial centre within 5 years

Reuters / Eddie Keogh

Canary Wharf and the city are seen at sunset in London, December 14, 2016.

• London has been named the world's leading financial sector by a Duff & Phelps report, which surveys senior financial professionals.
• The majority of professionals said they believe London will lose its top status by 2023.
• Julian Korek, Head Compliance Consulting at Duff & Phelps, said "There is still a lot of hard work ahead for the City if it wants to retain the top position in a post-Brexit climate. When it comes to shaping London's future outside of the EU, decisions taken now will be crucial in laying the groundwork for years to come."

London beat New York to reclaim its place as the world's leading financial centre, according to a report, but more than half of those surveyed believe London will lose its crown by 2023.

This year's Global Regulatory Outlook report, which is published annually by corporate finance adviser Duff & Phelps, marks the first time that London has beaten New York in the ranking since 2013.

The Outlook, which surveys senior professionals in financial institutions all over the world, shows a significant improvement in attitudes to London from last year, but also warns that Brexit and other factors could still damage the competitiveness of the City.

Julian Korek, head of compliance consulting at Duff & Phelps, said: "There is still a lot of hard work ahead for the City if it wants to retain the top position in a post-Brexit climate. When it comes to shaping London's future outside of the EU, decisions taken now will be crucial in laying the groundwork for years to come."

Financial services leaders are particularly worried about the impacts of Brexit with 64% saying it will definitely impact their current compliance programs.

The Duff & Phelps report reveals continued uncertainty over the future of London as the leading global financial centre, but confidence has increased since the Brexit vote.

"It's refreshing to see that attitudes towards London's global status have improved in the past 12 months. In previous years, London has lagged behind New York. For this to have been dramatically reversed with just a year to go until Brexit shows a growing confidence among financial services business leaders that London is still the number one place to do business," said Korek.