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The credit crunch has caused business at the UK’s leading financial services firms to fall at its fastest rate in nearly two decades.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) says that banks, insurance firms and brokerages reported the worst figures since March 1991 in the last three months of 2007.
Of the companies surveyed, 44 per cent logged a fall in business, with just 10 per cent noting an increase.
“After two years of strong growth there has been a clear turnaround within the financial services sector,” said the CBI’s chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty.
“The credit squeeze has delivered a sharp shock to business volumes over the past three months, and it seems that difficulties are likely to persist for some time yet.”
The CBI conducted the survey in conjunction with accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Mr McCafferty did not think the figures were cause for alarm and said that the sector remained ‘very resilient’.
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