Global financial services trade is evolving. While established relationships between advanced economies continue to dominate, new trade corridors are emerging across Asia, the Middle East and other fast-growing regions. These shifts are creating new opportunities, as well as challenges, for international financial centres.
In this paper, TheCityUK analyses two decades of financial services trade data to examine how global trade patterns are changing, assess the UK's position within the international financial system, and identify the corridors driving potential future growth.
Our analysis highlights both the enduring importance of the UK's established relationships with the EU and US and the growing significance of emerging markets in shaping the future of global financial services trade.
Summary of findings:
The UK’s role in a changing landscape for global financial services trade
The UK’s financial services exports are heavily concentrated in advanced economies, with the EU and the US together accounting for around two thirds of sector exports. However, diversification is increasingly visible, presenting opportunities to capitalise further on rapid growth in some emerging markets.
Other international financial centres (IFCs) have varying export profiles. For example, Hong Kong remains closely linked to China; the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is orientated towards advanced Western economies, and Switzerland is EU-orientated.
The long-run evolution of the UK’s financial services trade
The EU and US have been the main drivers of growth in UK financial services trade, accounting for two thirds of the UK’s 168% growth in this area in the 20 years to 2024. At the same time, trade with Asia has expanded steadily, helping to gradually diversify the UK’s international financial services relationships.
Fast-growing markets such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the GCC and some countries within the wider Asia-Pacific region are becoming increasingly important to the UK’s future trade prospects and are making an increasingly significant contribution to overall trade growth.
Global inter-regional financial services corridors
We have defined emerging global ‘corridors’ that are wider than pure bilateral relationships using rule-based criteria combining low initial scale, sustained high growth, and minimum cumulative trade. This analysis found that global financial services trade continues to be anchored by large, well-established corridors linking advanced economies; only 18 corridors out of 153 examined were classed as ‘emerging’, demonstrating that economically significant new trade relationships remain relatively rare.
However, a small number of faster-growing corridors are emerging, particularly those connected to Asia and other developing markets. Understanding how trade corridors are realigning, particularly across Asia and the Middle East, and the ways UK industry can service them will drive future commercial opportunities.