Growth in the UK financial sector has been ‘robust’ in the first nine months of 2007 despite the credit crunch, a report from International Financial Services London has found.

UK banking sector assets have reached record levels and the volume of workers employed in City of London type jobs is at an all-time high.

The buoyant figures, which reflect the first nine months of 2007, were compiled by the IFSL for its International Financial Markets in the UK report.

However, as the credit crunch only hit towards the end of that period, its effect on the market could well remain hidden until the next reports are published.

Key points in this week’s report include the fact that trading in UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange totalled £3.1bn in the first nine months of 2007, up a third on the same period in 2006.

The LSE accounted for 53% of foreign equity trading in the first nine months of 2007, up 3% on 2006.

Financial sector jobs to increase

UK banking sector assets increased 16% in the first 8 months of 2007 to a record £7.3bn. The UK had the leading share of international bank lending (20%) and international bank borrowing (23%) in March 2007.

The report also suggested that ‘the growing contribution of financial services to the UK economy is shown in City type employment reaching a new high of 338,000 in 2006’.

UK financial services trade surplus increased by nearly a third in 2006 to £25.1bn, and the surplus in the first half of 2007 was £15.6bn.

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