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的演讲中表示，推进伦敦金融城进步的唯一非常重要原因是其技术劳动力和金融专业常识。他还列举了伦敦金融城的其它优势，比如：母语为英语，身处介于美国和亚洲之间的有利时区，拥有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 helping1 the City's growth is its skilled labour and financial know-how2. He also cited other advantages as having English as its mother tongue, a favourable3 time zone between the US and Asia, and a benign4 regulatory and legal environment.
他继续表示：欧盟内部劳动力的自由流动，与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原因。
He went on: The free movement of labour within the European Union, and relative openness to immigration by those with specific expertise5 from outside it, has also meant that employers in the financial sector6 can access the world labour market. And the relative flexibility7 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部长。他表示，高技能职员的集中勉励了角逐和革新，促进了伦敦对冲基金管理公司和私人股本企业的飞速壮大。
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 equity8 firms in London.
伦敦金融城雇佣的职员约占英国劳动力总数的1%，是德国的两倍，也高于制造业的比率。约翰爵士表示，金融服务和专业服务支持范围约占英国国内生产总值的12%。制造业为14%。
The City employs about 1 per cent of the UK workforce9 - 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布隆伯格委托、由麦肯锡 1月份发表的一份报告显示，伴随银行纷纷从华尔街迁往伦敦，纽约在金融服务范围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：历史留给大家的一大教训是，任何地位都可能失去。判断失当的决策一直大概让大家失去一项优势。另外，任何大范围的经营混乱或对安全的担忧也大概导致很大的破坏，正由于此，大家和其它三方机构（英国央行、金融服务管理局和财政部）正花费很多时间，改变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.
