Most UK business firms expect the financial services sector in UK to grow at a decent pace in the coming quarter, according to a survey conducted by the Confederation of British Industry. The CBI conducted its survey on 80 companies between February 17 and March 3 and released its data on Monday. The survey showed that the activity in the financial services sector was reported stable in the last quarter ended March this year.

The survey also showed that the banking profitability grew for the recent ended quarter. This was the second consecutive quarterly growth for the banking profitability. The banking sector is also expected to grow faster for the coming quarter as the improvement in margins for new business continues.

According to the survey, 43% firms said that they had reported increased business volumes in the quarter ended March while 42% said they had fallen in the period. While asked for the coming quarter, 48% of the respondents said that they expect a rise in their business volumes. This was reported the best results in past four years.

The survey also showed that 74% of the respondents said they were concerned about the impact of statutory legislation and regulation on their ability to grow in the next 12 months. Also, 85% of the companies said that UK is losing its competitiveness as a financial centre.