The UK generated a financial services trade surplus of $127 billion in 2024, which kept it ahead of the US on $64.2 billion and above the combined surpluses of Singapore, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

TheCityUK estimates that the UK’s overall financial and related professional services trade surplus reached £119.1 billion, or about $152.5 billion, underlining the scale of exports generated by the wider ecosystem.

The latest edition of TheCityUK’s “Key facts about the UK as an international financial center” report shows that the US remains the UK’s largest trading partner for financial and related professional services, taking 35.1% of total sector exports.

The EU ranks second with a 31% share, with Luxembourg, Ireland and France as the top three destinations inside the bloc.

Report Highlights Resilience and Uncertainty

TheCityUK frames the numbers against a backdrop of geopolitical tension and a fragile global outlook, where higher volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad Read this Term could test the resilience of cross‑border finance.

The report shows that the banking system remains a core pillar of the UK’s international offering, with sector assets reaching $13.3 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, making it the fourth largest banking center globally and second in Europe.

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The country also ranks as the world’s largest cross‑border banking hub, accounting for 14.6% of the total outstanding value of international bank lending in the second quarter of 2025, a share that has held relatively stable over the last decade.

“The global economic landscape remains highly uncertain, with geopolitical tensions once again to the fore and the impact of any increased market volatility also potentially in prospect,” commented Anjalika Bardalai, the Chief Economist and Director for Economic Research at TheCityUK.

“Against this backdrop, UK-based financial and related professional services exports remain resilient, with their exports a particular measure of their ongoing strength,” she explained.

London remains dominant in foreign exchange, with 38% of global FX turnover and twice as many US dollars traded in the UK as in the US. The city also stands as the biggest offshore renminbi FX center, handling 43.1% of total offshore renminbi transactions in December 2024, up 5.8% year‑on‑year.

Insurance, Pensions and Equity Markets

Beyond banking and FX, the UK retains weight across insurance and capital markets. The island nation's insurance sector is the largest in Europe, with $554 billion in gross written premiums in 2024. London holds a 43% share of the global market for specialty risk classes.

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Equity markets remain a significant part of the UK’s capital markets footprint. As of October 2025, 259 foreign companies were listed on the London Stock Exchange, placing London as the fourth‑ranked stock exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term globally by this metric.

The UK recorded one of the highest equity market capitalizations relative to GDP among major economies, standing at 83.8% at the end of 2024.

Green Finance Gains Traction

The report indicates that green and sustainable finance continues to grow as a feature of the UK market. The country issued $31.9 billion in green bonds in 2024, ranking sixth globally and third in Europe by issuance volume. The London Stock Exchange hosted 564 active sustainable bonds from more than 137 issuers by the end of 2024, and these instruments together raised around $341bn.

The UK remains a major fintech destination despite a tougher global funding environment. In 2024, UK‑based fintech firms attracted $3.6 billion across 546 deals, retaining the country’s position as the world’s second largest fintech investment hub after the US.

Related professional services continue to reinforce the UK’s financial hub status and contribute significantly to exports. The UK remains Europe’s largest legal services market, with a value of £52.3bn in 2024, and it ranks second globally only behind the US.