Financial firms say business is back on track
FINANCIAL services firms have reported business that is only slightly below normal levels for the first time since the financial crisis, a survey reveals today.
However, this partly reflects lower expectations of what constitutes “normal trading”, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which conducted the survey alongside the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
New regulation threatens to burden the industry over the coming months, the survey revealed.
The proportion of firms reporting that statutory legislation and regulation could stunt growth over the next 12 months reached a record high for the survey.
Nonetheless, a net 22 per cent of firms reported growing volumes of business in the past quarter, while a net 30 per cent expected to see growth accelerate in the next three months.
Fees and revenues at banks, building societies, fund managers, traders and insurers rose at the fastest rate since March 2007.