Banks and City firms remain gloomy about the long-run prospects for the UK's finance sector, but optimism about their own businesses has picked up, according to the latest sentiment survey of the sector.

The UK's business lobby, the Confederation of British Industry, surveys the City every three months in conjunction with audit firm PwC. Its September survey found 18% of firms saying they were less optimistic about the prospects for the City than they were three months ago, while only 12% said they were happier.