英国央行(Bank of England)负责金融稳定的副行长约翰o吉弗爵士(Sir John Gieve)3月26日表示，英国的欧盟(EU)成员国身份及移民开放政策，推动了伦敦金融城(City)作为全球金融中心的快速发展。

Britain's membership of the European Union and its openness to immigration have helped the rapid growth of the City of London as an international financial centre, the Bank of England's deputy governor for financial stability said on the 26th March.

吉弗在对伦敦会计师协会(London Society of Accountants)的演讲中表示，推动伦敦金融城发展的"唯一最重要因素"是"其技术劳动力和金融专业知识"。他还列举了伦敦金融城的其它优势，例如：母语为英语，身处介于美国和亚洲之间的有利时区，拥有良好的监管和法律环境。

Sir John Gieve said in a speech to the London Society of Accountants that "the single most important factor" in helping the City's growth is "its skilled labour and financial know-how". He also cited other advantages as having English as its mother tongue, a favourable time zone between the US and Asia, and a benign regulatory and legal environment.

他继续表示："欧盟内部劳动力的自由流动，以及对来自欧盟外部拥有特定专业技能的移民实行相对开放的政策，也意味着金融行业的雇主能进入全球劳动力市场。伦敦金融城劳动力市场相对于欧洲其它国家的灵活性可能也是其中一个因素。"

He went on: "The free movement of labour within the European Union, and relative openness to immigration by those with specific expertise from outside it, has also meant that employers in the financial sector can access the world labour market. And the relative flexibility of the labour market here in the UK compared to others in Europe may also be a factor."

在2006年1月加入英国央行前，约翰爵士曾担任英国内政部(Home Office)部长。他表示，高技能员工的集中激励了竞争和创新，促进了伦敦对冲基金管理公司和私人股本公司的迅速壮大。

Sir John, the top civil servant at the Home Office before joining the Bank in January 2006, said the concentration of skilled labour had spurred competition and innovation, contributing to the rapid growth of hedge fund management and private equity firms in London.

伦敦金融城雇佣的员工约占英国劳动力总数的1%，是德国的两倍，也高于制造业的比例。约翰爵士表示，金融服务和专业服务支持领域约占英国国内生产总值(GDP)的12%。制造业为14%。

The City employs about 1 per cent of the UK workforce - twice the equivalent proportion for Germany and more than in manufacturing. Financial services and its professional services support account for about 12 per cent of the UK's gross domestic product, according to Sir John. This compares with 14 per cent for manufacturing.

受纽约市长迈克尔o布隆伯格(Michael Bloomberg)委托、由麦肯锡(McKinsey) 1月份发表的一份报告显示，随着银行纷纷从华尔街迁往伦敦，纽约在金融服务领域的市场份额正输给伦敦。

A report published in January by McKinsey and commissioned by Michael Bloomberg, New York's mayor, found that New York was losing market share in financial services to London, as banks moved from Wall Street to the UK capital.

但约翰爵士警告称："历史留给我们的一大教训是，任何地位都可能失去。判断失当的决策总是有可能让我们失去一项优势。"另外，"任何大范围的经营混乱或对安全的担心也有可能造成极大的破坏，正因为此，我们和其它三方机构（英国央行、金融服务管理局(Financial Services Authority)和财政部）正花费大量时间，改善危机反应和管理机制。"

But he warned: "One of the clear lessons from history is that any position can be lost. It is always possible to throw away an advantage by ill-judged decisions." In addition, "any widespread operational disruption or fear about security could also be very damaging, which is one reason why we and the other tripartite authorities [the Bank, the Financial Services Authority, the regulator, and the Treasury] are spending so much time on improving crisis response and management."