Well the article opened with " for centuries London has been Europe's financial centre..."  and that long predates it joining the EU in 1972. The UK has an opportunity to cut deals with major countries of the Commonwealth, China and the USA as a rump EU fades. This is the silver lining to Brexit and is worth doing. The EU should cut a friendly deal with the UK and take a piece of the action. Paris is cold and grey and strike prone--Frankfurt dull and plodding--London is hip, connected and smart.