Financial services leaders from around the globe assembled in Paris to announce their strategic alliance under the newly formed World Alliance of International Financial Centers - a global organization created to facilitate cooperation and exchange of best practices across financial centers - and to finalize World Alliance's common objectives ahead of the signing of World Alliance's Charter and Statues by all members in September.
A financial center is a kind of a service infrastructure for investors and corporates to manage savings and to finance entrepreneurial risk to trigger economic growth in a sustainable environment. Financial centers are known for their clustering effect, they bring together financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, asset managers …), regional headquarters of multinational companies, professional services providers.
World Alliance was proposed by the financial centers of Frankfurt (Germany), Moscow (Russia) and Paris (France) in December 2016 to explore cross-fertilization opportunities and facilitate cooperation and the exchange of best practices among financial centers to help contribute to economic growth. Today in Paris, they were joined by the financial centers of Abu Dhabi (U.A.E), Belgium, Casablanca (Morocco), London (UK), Luxembourg, Astana (Kazakhstan), Busan (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan) and Toronto (Canada).
Initially, World Alliance will focus on the following objectives, subject to approval by World Alliance's Board of Directors:
- Data on Financial centers
- Green investment & infrastructure
- FinTech
- The role of financial centers in financing the economy
World Alliance will be incorporated as a Belgian association with its head office in Frankfurt, Germany. Its first General Assembly is planned for the last quarter of 2018.
Why World Alliance is Important
Financial centers are key to sustainable economic growth. They provide the infrastructure for investment and savings which go onto facilitate entrepreneurial endeavors and economic growth throughout industries and communities.
Financial centers are not identical in size or scope of activities but cross-fertilization among centers can be useful to leverage collective and individual efficiencies and best practices, and thus increase competition and growth.