A quarterly survey, conducted by Deloitte among 64 chief financial officers (CFO) of large British companies between March 21 and April 3, showed that optimism among CEOs rose sharply, recording the sharpest improvement since the end of 2020, despite the recent turmoil in the global banking sector.
The difference between CFO’s who were more optimistic about their businesses' prospects and those who were less optimistic stood at 25% points, having run below the long-term average reading of -2% throughout the last year. The balance was the highest since the end of 2020.
The survey also found that the vast majority of CFOs expect a significant increase in capital spending on artificial intelligence (AI) over the next five years, and two-thirds said AI would help boost the country's weak productivity growth.
"Given reports of minor changes in lending conditions, the survey results signal that recent events in the global banking system have not affected the prices and availability of loans for British corporations," Deloitte said.