About the FCCI

A new framework for assessing financial centres

The Financial Centre Competitiveness Index was created to offer a clearer, more forward-looking view of how international financial centres operate. It addresses a long-standing need for metrics that reflect both present performance and the ability to adapt to changing economic, technological, and geopolitical conditions.

City-level evidence that reflects the reality of how financial centres operate
A balanced view that combines current performance with future readiness
HOW IT WORKS

Methodology

The FCCI rests on two complementary components that show both present reality and future momentum.

Footprint

Reflects the current status of a financial centre. It is built from three pillars: Institutional Environment, Resources, and Local Ecosystem and Economic Environment. Each pillar contains two sub-pillars, which capture the factors that define the scale, depth, and operating conditions of a centre.

Dynamics

Captures near- and medium-term prospects. It consists of two pillars: Growth and Future Readiness, each with two sub-pillars that describe a centre’s trajectory, adaptability, and capacity for continued development.

Together these components provide a balanced picture of where a centre stands today and how well it is positioned for the years ahead. Full detail on pillars, sub-pillars, indicators, and rationale can be found in the methodology section of the report.

FCCI model

How indicators feed into the FCCI score

The FCCI aggregates indicators into sub-pillars, sub-pillars into pillars, and pillars into Footprint and Dynamics. These five pillars determine a centre’s FCCI score and rank.

1 Institutional Environment
2 Resources
3 Local Ecosystem & Economic Environment
4 Growth
5 Future Readiness
FCCI score and rank Simple average of the five pillars
Footprint
Current scale, depth, and local ecosystem

Footprint reflects a financial centre’s current capacity. It covers governance, regulation, capital, talent, and the wider economic environment.

1
Institutional Environment
Governance, trust, and regulation.
Governance & Trust
Integrity, predictability, and fiscal management.
  • 1.1.1 National political governance
  • 1.1.2 National fiscal governance
  • 1.1.3 Perceived corruption
  • 1.1.4 S&P rating
  • 1.1.5 Stock exchange sustainability activity
Regulatory Environment
Quality, incentives, and innovation in regulation.
  • 1.2.1 National regulatory system
  • 1.2.2 Institutional framework for local and regional governments
  • 1.2.3 Business support incentives
  • 1.2.4 Regulatory innovation
2
Resources
Capital and talent.
Capital
Scale and diversity of financial markets.
  • 2.1.1 State capital
  • 2.1.2 Stock market capitalisation
  • 2.1.3 Equity trading
  • 2.1.4 Capital raised through IPOs
  • 2.1.5 Derivatives trading
  • 2.1.6 Foreign exchange turnover
  • 2.1.7 Greenfield investment
Talent
Availability and quality of workforce.
  • 2.2.1 Labour participation
  • 2.2.2 Unemployment
  • 2.2.3 Population with tertiary education
  • 2.2.4 Finance and insurance professionals
  • 2.2.5 Foreign-born population
  • 2.2.6 Safety
  • 2.2.7 Environment
3
Local Ecosystem & Economic Environment
Economic weight and global connectivity.
Business
Depth of the local economic base and firms.
  • 3.1.1 GDP per capita
  • 3.1.2 Financial soundness
  • 3.1.3 HQ presence of asset managers
  • 3.1.4 HQ presence of public financial firms
  • 3.1.5 HQ presence of global firms
Polycentrism
Connectivity through ownership, subsidiaries, transport, and trade.
  • 3.2.1 Firm ownership linkages
  • 3.2.2 Firm subsidiary linkages
  • 3.2.3 Global network connectivities
  • 3.2.4 Airport connectivity
  • 3.2.5 Global connectedness
Dynamics
Growth, technology, and innovation

Dynamics highlights change and future potential. It captures recent growth, digital foundations, and the innovation that shapes financial services.

4
Growth
Economic and financial momentum.
Volume
Changes in output, markets, and investment.
  • 4.1.1 GDP performance
  • 4.1.2 Stock market capitalisation performance
  • 4.1.3 Equity trading performance
  • 4.1.4 Greenfield investment performance
  • 4.1.5 Performance of public financial firms
Range
Breadth and diversification of activity.
  • 4.2.1 Firm ownership linkages growth
  • 4.2.2 Firm subsidiary linkages growth
  • 4.2.3 Derivatives trading diversity
  • 4.2.4 Financial sector contribution
5
Future Readiness
Technology and innovation capacity.
Technology
Digital infrastructure, access, and cybersecurity.
  • 5.1.1 Mobile download speed
  • 5.1.2 Fixed broadband download speed
  • 5.1.3 Internet access
  • 5.1.4 Local online services
  • 5.1.5 Data centre density
  • 5.1.6 Cybersecurity
Innovation
R&D, patents, AI, and startup ecosystem.
  • 5.2.1 R&D expenditure
  • 5.2.2 Major university
  • 5.2.3 Patents
  • 5.2.4 AI innovation
  • 5.2.5 Startup scene
Source: Financial Centre Competitiveness Index (FCCI) model.
Footprint pillars Dynamics pillars

The financial services sector is a critical driver of global economic growth, yet traditional indices often focus solely on rankings, lacking actionable insights for financial centres. The Financial Centre Competitiveness Index (FCCI) aims to fill this gap by offering a comprehensive toolset that combines data-driven rankings with strategic analysis.

Robert Salomon - Stern @ NYUAD, Dean

In 2025, about one third of the world’s total financial assets are booked in a handful of international financial centres. (IFCs). Leading IFCs (typically established in industrialized countries) are striving to modernize their structures and array of services. Upcoming IFCs (many of which are located in the ‘Global South’) are rapidly growing and innovating. The result of those trends is a rapidly changing map of global finance, in which new tools are needed to benchmark and compare the performances of IFCs.

Bruno Lanvin - Descartes Institute, President

The FCCI 2025 redefines how we measure global financial centres, combining rigorous data with long-term strategic insight. Grounded in transparency, trust, and independence, it captures both the current scale and future readiness of financial centres. This empowers policymakers, investors, and institutions to act with clarity, relevance, and strategic advantage in our fast-moving financial world.

Alina Timofeeva - Influence Board Member, BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT

The global economy has now moved into a rapidly changing environment in which short term and long term are being redefined. In a world of growing volatility, benchmarking tools like FCCI can greatly help decision makers to better assess risks and opportunities that enable them to address the key challenges of our time.

Karen E. Wilson - Founder & CEO, GV Partners

The FCCI report confirms what many of us in cyber and regulation have been saying for years: competitiveness today is built on transparent, predictable regulation and world-class digital capacity. The report also makes it clear that strong, reliable data at the city level is essential for understanding where ecosystems truly stand and how to strengthen them. In this new landscape, trust functions as infrastructure. AI maturity, cybersecurity excellence, data center density and quantum readiness are no longer optional. They are the new currency of global leadership.

Betania Allo - Global Expert in AI, Cybersecurity Law, and Digital Regulation

Independence and academic rigour

The FCCI is produced by the Descartes Institute and supported by Stern at NYU Abu Dhabi through the Institute for Global Financial Competitiveness. Its development draws on the expertise of economists, urban specialists, and financial sector practitioners. The index is governed by principles of transparency, neutrality, and intellectual independence.

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