BUSINESS volumes at almost half of financial services firms declined in the first quarter, while employment and profitability in the sector fell at the fastest rate for five years, a study reveals.
In the latest Financial Services Survey from the CBI and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, just 17pc of respondents reported an upturn in business in the three months to early March, while 47pc reported a decline. The net balance of -30pc was close to the near 17-year low of -33pc recorded in December and clear evidence of the impact of the credit crunch having persisted into Q1 2008. A similar rate of business decline is expected for the coming three months. The quarterly survey also revealed that a record balance of respondents (-44pc) suffered a dip in the value of fees, commissions and pr...
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