Welcome

Adrian Walkling
Managing Director, Head of Financial Services,
Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking

This is our sixth annual Financial Institutions Sentiment Survey, which collects the latest views of more than 100 senior decision-makers at UK banks, wealth and asset managers, insurers, financial sponsors and intermediaries.

Our collective activities as an industry are driven by our purpose to help people grow their savings and wealth, protect their health, life and property and lend for their major life purchases like homes and cars. A robust and well-functioning financial services sector has to be at the core of any growing economy and inclusive society.

The importance of this purpose has magnified as we emerge from the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression¹.

There’s no doubt that financial services firms have proved incredibly resilient to the impacts of the coronavirus crisis compared to other sectors of the economy.

Between March and April 2020, UK GDP was down by 20%, with construction down 40% and hospitality down 90%².

By contrast, financial and insurance activities contracted by a comparatively modest 5%³, and business volumes have since rebounded rapidly.

Certain subsectors, such as retail share dealers, even had record years thanks to an upturn in ‘armchair traders’ looking to invest unspent cash. But the wider sector’s strong performance wasn’t just by chance.

Our sector’s role in the recovery

The industry has gone through significant reforms since the 2008 financial crisis and showed great foresight in investing heavily in digital, and consequently was well prepared to pivot to new ways of working with minimal disruption.

The global pandemic will have lasting social and economic effects and the financial services sector has a key role to play in helping Britain recover.

It’s also critical that we play our part in the transition to a low carbon green economy that will support the UK’s recovery and promote long-term prosperity, while helping to make our planet more resilient. It’s heartening to see this important societal work reflected in the responses to this year’s survey.

After a year unlike any other, the sector has moved decisively to further its technological capabilities, mitigate risks and secure new opportunities in new markets.

While the coming year will undoubtedly present new challenges, UK firms have the talent and tenacity to overcome these obstacles, keep on innovating and achieve great things.

¹ https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/2020/eng/spotlight/covid-19/
² https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9111/CBP-9111.pdf
³https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/articles/coronavirusandtheimpactonoutputintheukeconomy/april2020