US No Longer Top Global Financial Center: Roubini

The United States has lost its perch as the global financial center of the world, something economist Nouriel Roubini attributes to the lingering effects of the 2008 credit collapse.

CNBC.com Nouriel Roubini

In a survey released Thursday morning, the World Economic Forum lists the US third behind the United Kingdom and Australia as the world's top centers.

• Click Here to Watch Roubini's Interview

The UK maintained its rating even though, like the US, it has suffered from the problems in the financial system and the resulting effects across the business spectrum.

"Certainly there's been a significant drop in the overall score of the US and UK relative to last year," Roubini, a professor at New York University and head of RGEMonitor.com, said during a live interview on CNBC. "Right now the difference between them and the rest is smaller, and in terms of financial stability they look very weak."

Roubini said the rankings look at financial sector development, currency trading and derivatives as well as banking and non-banking activities.

The US is followed on the list by Singapore and Hong Kong.

Roubini also repeated his contention that the US economy is facing a U-shaped recovery of prolonged slow growth, saying "there's still a significant amount of damage in the financial system."