Singapore is the preferred destination of financial centres for banking and finance professionals, according to research from financial services recruiter Astbury Marsden.

The research shows 27% of respondents chose Singapore as their most favoured location, while 22% chose London, 20% Hong Kong, 19% New York and 13% Dubai.

Mark Cameron, chief operating officer at Astbury Marsden, says: “Results like this should be of real concern to more established banking centres such as London and New York.

“Singapore and Hong Kong are thriving economies without the growing swell of anti-banker bias. The UK’s super tax and EU bonus proposals have played into the hands of these low tax jurisdictions.

“While we obviously don’t expect any bank to relocate its entire operation out of the UK, we are constantly fielding enquiries from talented bankers in London asking us to find them jobs in the Asia Pacific region. This is partly due to the growth of those economies but the anti-bank sentiment plays a definite role.”