2008 forecast to be troublesome by UK bankers

The problems experienced by UK financiers this year are only set to worsen in 2008, a new survey has revealed.

When asked about their predictions for the financial arena next year, UK bankers were gloomy in their outlook, with 40.8% believing 2008 could be a difficult year.

Conducted by eFinancialCareers.com, the poll discovered that US bankers are slightly more positive for the year ahead.

Nearly a third (31.8%) agreed with the pessimistic view of UK financiers. This is despite the issues surrounding the sub-prime mortgage crisis that the US has contended with in 2007.

Finance workers in Singapore held a more optimistic view, with 41.6% of respondents sharing the belief that 2008 could be a much better year for financial markets.

Hong Kong financiers agreed, with 40.5% holding a positive outlook for the next 12 months.

Workers in the Gulf held very different views from UK bankers, with only 12.3% forecasting a downturn in the financial markets for 2008.