Banks cut jobs at faster pace

Financial services firms in the UK cut jobs at the fastest rate for more

than six years during the last quarter, a survey by the Confederation of

British Industry and the accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers showed.

It said just 13% of firms increased headcount, while 43% reduced it. The balance of -30% was the worst figure since September 1996.

The firms' forecasts for the current quarter suggest job losses will continue at a slower rate, with a balance of -21%.

Different sectors of financial services reported sharply varied results. Securities houses - including investment banks - recorded a balance of -85% during the last quarter. This was three times as high as in the same period last year.

Securities houses are less pessimistic about their plans in the current quarter, resulting in a balance of -56%.

Fund managers also cut jobs fast in the last three months, yielding a figure of -59%; though that was not quite as bad as the figure for the same period last year. Their predictions for the next three months show a mild improvement, at -33%.

Some financial sectors were more buoyant. Retail banks reported a balance of just -12% in the last quarter, while insurance brokers reported a positive balance of 19%. Building societies were even more positive.