Optimism among firms in the financial services sector declined at the fastest pace since 2011, the quarterly Financial Services Survey from the Confederation of British Industry and accountancy firm PwC showed Tuesday.
About 14 percent of firms said they were more optimistic, while 35 percent were less optimistic, giving a balance of -21 percent.
“Concerns over China and a volatile start to the year for markets, alongside uncertainty about a possible Brexit, have created a perfect storm to dampen optimism in financial services,” Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Director for Economics, said.
The survey suggested that financial market instability, competition from within the sector and macroeconomic uncertainty were the top three challenges facing financial services over the coming year.
However, business volumes continued to expand at a solid pace, while profitability improved, albeit at the slowest pace for almost two years.
Employment in financial services increased last quarter, but is expected to remain flat in the next three months.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com