Hong Kong and Singapore, along with New York and London, are the four most dominant centres for wealth management and private banking, a new survey shows.

London, New-York, Hong Kong and Singapore are the four main hotspot centres for wealth management and private banking, according to the 2013 Global Finance Centre Index by Z/Yen Group – the London-based think tank.

The survey, led by research group Long Finance, reveals that Hong Kong and Singapore are now only two points apart. There is a 48 point spread between London in first place and Singapore in fourth. There is then a gap of 36 points, where Zurich sits in fifth place.

Meanwhile, offshore centres “continue to gain ground” in the 2013 index, and like last year’s results, Jersey and Guernsey remain as the leading two centres. These two areas are followed closely by Monaco, which ranks 35^th in the index, up by 25 ranks since GFCI 2012.

GFCI uses responses to an ongoing online questionnaire completed by international financial services professionals. Responses from 2,379 financial services professionals were collected in the 24 months to December 2012. The report was sponsored by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and produced by Z/Yen Group.

The eurozone crisis lingers on

Although the index shows that financial centres in Europe are still in turmoil as the eurozone crisis continues, some areas have seen a rise since 2012. Zurich, in 5^th place and Geneva, in 7^th place, confirmed their position in the GFCI top ten, while Frankfurt, in 10^th place and Paris in 26^th place, have both moved up by three ranks since GFCI 2012. Luxembourg, Vienna, Milan and Rome also showed improvements and moved slightly closer to London.

Lisbon, Reykjavik, Budapest and Athens however, have declined, and remain at the bottom of the GFCI rankings. Athens in 79^th place is now 68 points adrift of the 78^th centre Budapest, the firm said.

Asia-Pacific picks up pace     

The index for 2013 shows that all Asia-Pacific financial centres - with the exception of Beijing - have seen marked improvements in this year’s ratings. Kuala Lumpur moved up 3 ranks, from 26^th to 21^st. Singapore remained at 4^th place and Tokyo moved up one rank to 6^th place. Beijing, however suffered the largest decline in the GFCI 2013, down by 15 places to 43^rd place.

Mixed bag for the Americas

Centres in the Americas saw their ratings improve, although Chicago, Toronto and San Francisco fell slightly in the ranks. Boston entered the GFCI top ten, climbing to 8^th place, having previously been in 11^th place, and has now moved just above Seoul, Chicago and Toronto.

The index shows that Latin American centres have made significant progress in terms of both rankings and ratings. Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are now in the GFCI top 50, both having climbed four places, and Buenos Aires makes a significant gain of 55 points, now sitting in 53^rd place.