Transformation of international financial centers in global economy

Abstract

The article considers approaches to the interpretation of the concepts of «financial center» and «international financial center». On the basis of this, the original interpretation of the concept of «international financial centers» is presented, which is defined as hubs of the international financial network in the form of a set of institutions of different jurisdictions that carry out international transactions, provide financial and other support services to clients around the world. This makes it possible to manage international financial flows, to serve the accumulation and distribution of capital at the global level. It is concluded that their importance for the global economy is to ensure stability and liquidity of the global financial market by redistributing international financial flows. It is marked that their feature and difference from the financial centers of national level is a presence of the ramified network of mediators for the sake of maintenance of the international acceding to the orientation on clients outside the country of basing. The advantages of hosting international financial centers for the country of location are determined. Thus, the creation and development of international financial centers helps to attract financial capital, increases the investment attractiveness of the host country and provides it with other economic and social benefits. The changes in the development index of the TOP-10 international financial centers (for 2022, 2014 and 2006) are analysed. New York, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong retain their leading positions in the TOP-10 during the analysed period. The existence of significant competition from financial centers for global leadership has been determined, which is explained by a slight gap in the ranking of the TOP-10 city-centers. It is noted that from the point of view of the global economy and influence on the world financial market, financial centers that are classified as global rather than international come to the fore. The directions of transformation of international financial centers in the context of globalisation are identified. It is noted that their role is changing due to the emergence of financial centers of global influence, innovative models of international activities, introduction of digital innovations and improvement of the regulatory framework for international financial activities.