An upbeat portrait of the City's financial strengths was painted by Stock Exchange chief executive Michael Lawrence at the third annual Leonard Sainer Lecture. The lecture last week was sponsored by the Leonard Sainer Legal Education Foundation and Titmuss Sainer Dechert and chaired by retired Court of Appeal judge Sir John Balcombe, chair of the foundation. Lawrence said London was able to demonstrate that “it ranks high among the world's financial centres”. Lawrence said that the Stock Exchange was undergoing a thorough review of its activities to meet future challenges.