Confidence in UK financial services is at a 17 year high, with firms anticipating a greater recovery in volumes, profitability and employment in the fourth quarter.
UK financial services companies are the most positive on their business situation since the mid-1990s, despite a quarterly decline in business volumes, according to independent membership body TheCityUK’s quarterly competitiveness tracker.
Eleven quarterly and semiannual indicators of competitiveness, including employment, available credit and new authorisations, were up in the third quarter.
Seven were down over the same period, including volume of business and ease of doing new business.
The tracker is expected to see another rise in the fourth quarter of 2013 as the economy continues to recover.
A preliminary estimate of 0.8% GDP growth in the third quarter was today confirmed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).