Canary Wharf Attracts some Big Hitters

Canary Wharf Attracts some Big Hitters- An article from the Wall Street Journal

Anyone questioning London's ascendancy in global capital markets need look no further than Morgan Stanley. After a series of management changes announced yesterday, no other Wall Street firm will have repositioned as many top dogs to the British capital. This is the clearest reflection yet that the growth in the investment-banking business won't be coming from the U.S.
Indeed, once Walid Chammah moves to London, Morgan Stanley's Canary Wharf offices will house its most senior investment banker, its global head of mergers and acquisitions, the chief operating officer of its securities division, and its global head of capital markets. Other firms have repositioned senior managers to London: Goldman Sachs Group earlier this year located its operating chief there.
The reasons are many. First and foremost is London's geography. By straddling the time zones of Asia and North America, a globally focused executive can wake up speaking with colleagues in Tokyo and spend the Jaguar ride home directing charges in New York. London is also more conveniently situated than New York for courting executives in Russia, China, the Middle East and India -- the four horsemen of industry growth.
This understandably creates anxiety in Congress or Mike Bloomberg's City Hall; think of all the tax revenue lost when big earners move. But the bigger picture is still a healthy one for American finance. While their employees may move from Murray Hill to Mayfair and speak accented English, U.S. investment banks still are leading the charge in capital markets.