Business confidence falls to lowest level since financial crisis, survey reveals

Confidence in Britain's financial services sector has fallen to the lowest level since the financial crisis in 2009, according to a survey on Monday.

Optimism among financial services firms during the three months to September dropped for the third consecutive quarter, the survey of 115 companies in the sector by business lobby CBI and consultancy PwC revealed.

More than half of the firms surveyed saw the Brexit vote as a negative for the financial services industry.

"With firms voicing strong concerns about the impact of Brexit, especially the risks to the wider economy in the years ahead, the government must allay their unease with clear plans for negotiations to leave the EU," CBI Chief Economist, Rain Newton-Smith, said in a statement.

Firms are worried Brexit will mean losing their passporting rights, which allow them to operate across the European Union from a base in Britain.

Negotiations between Britain and the bloc are expected to begin early next year after Prime Minister Theresa May invokes Article 50.