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Confidence 'rising' in UK financial services
Accountancy News |
31/03/2010
Activity in the UK financial services sector remained broadly stable over the past three months, according to one Big Four giant.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reported that profitability increased within the sector for the third consecutive quarter and is likely to rise further over the next three months.
In its latest Financial Services Survey, published jointly with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the firm noted that 43 per cent of companies saw business increase between January and March 2010, compared to 42 per cent which witnessed a fall.
The resulting positive balance of one per cent is better than the -13 per cent predicted for the quarter.
Ian McCafferty, CBI's chief economic adviser, said financial services companies hope lending will grow across their customer base over the coming quarter, lifting business volumes and helping profitability.
He stated: "Fears that regulation will hamper growth prospects in the year ahead have reached a record high, however, with companies expecting to have to ratchet up spending on compliance sharply."
Meanwhile, Andrew Gray, UK banking advisory leader at PwC, noted that banking confidence rose to its highest level in three years during the first quarter of 2010.
Posted by Jon Aspinell
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