Financial centers are global cities which have many banks, businesses and stock exchanges that have the potential to have international impact. The financial centers of the world are determined based on the Global Financial Centers Index. Financial centers participate in the international financial market trading and they have one or more stock market. The top ten financial centers of the world as per October 2014 ranking are
| Rank | Financial Centre | Rating |
| 1 | New York (USA) | 89.10 |
| 2 | London (UK) | 88.70 |
| 3 | Hong Kong (China) | 84.43 |
| 4 | Tokyo (Japan) | 81.86 |
| 5 | Singapore (China) | 75.81 |
| 6 | Shanghai (China) | 69.12 |
| 7 | Paris (France) | 66.23 |
| 8 | Frankfurt (Germany) | 60.24 |
| 9 | Chicago (USA) | 58.88 |
| 10 | Sydney (Australia) | 58.15 |
New York has three main factors that have enabled it to maintain the top ranking; it has quality human resources, large pool of money for lending or investing and a good legal framework. According to the total market capitalization, New York has the largest Stock Exchange in the world: the New York Stock Exchange on the Wall Street.
London has kept New York on toes. The finance sector in London has a transparent regulatory environment and tax rules that are transparent. New York is challenged in this factor as its regulatory environment is believed to be more problematic compared to London. London have a lot of businesses that are recognized internationally, e.g. the international courier which is a delivery agency; enables you to send parcel to America and to any part of the world.
Hong Kong is one of the rising eastern financial centers. It was the largest site for the Initial Public Offering in 2006. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange raised the largest amount of money among the largest financial centers of the world towards IPO.
Tokyo, the Japan’s capital, has kept growing in the eastern region despite that fact it has not lowered its taxes. It has put more efforts on establishment of English-speaking restaurants and services and the new office beings they have
Frankfurt harbors Deutsche Borse, which is among the top stock exchanges in the world. Another important factor for its rank is the European Central Bank; sets the monetary policy for the European currency. Chicago has the largest derivatives market in the world. It has the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. Shanghai has succeeded in market capitalization but the protective banking sector and the very restricted capital market is dragging it behind. Sydney is an important Financial Centre for the entire Asia-Pacific region. The nearness to the Asian markets has made Singapore a major financial centre.
These financial centers have become places of attraction, all over the world. Everyone desires to visit and live in such commercial cities. They have a lot of impact to their surroundings.