The City of London's competitiveness is founded on its global talent pool and ability to attract and retain workers of all nationalities. Drawing on ONS Long-Term International Migration data and fieldwork-based studies of banking, professional services and business education, the argument of this paper is 2-fold: that the City's competitiveness is significantly dependent on the functioning of its global labour market, of which a key factor is the immigration of European Economic Area (EEA) and non-EEA talent, and that a central determinant of the City's position as a leading international financial centre based around a highly competitive global labour pool will be UK immigration policy in the wake of the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and ensuing recession.