In March 2014, New York overtook London as the number one financial centre in the world as ranked by the global financial centre index (GFCI). This move has raised questions as to what has actually happened to justify such a change in ranking. Some questions are also raised such as why Mauritius is ranked higher than Helsinki. Notwithstanding the problems associated with the GFCI as a measure of the status of an international financial centre, an attempt is made to identify the determinants of the status of 53 financial centres using 24 potential explanatory variables and the technique of extreme bounds analysis (EBA). The results show that the important determinants include, among others, the corporate tax rate, global competitiveness, global credit rating, occupancy cost and property rights. A policy implication of the results is that attention should be paid to these determinants if a financial centre is to consolidate its position.