Brexit fears set alarm bells ringing for financial services

Sentiment and business volumes in UK financial services deteriorated sharply at the start of 2019 owing to Brexit uncertainty, raising fresh concerns over the crucial but underperforming sector. More than half the financial services businesses surveyed between February and March by the CBI and the consultancy PwC were less optimistic about their overall business situation. The net score of optimistic minus pessimistic dropped to -43 per cent, the lowest reading since 2008. “The alarm bells ringing at the state of optimism in the financial services sector have now reached a deafening level,” said Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at the CBI.