According to a quarterly survey by Deloitte, finance executives at top British firms have reported the most significant increase in optimism since late 2020. The recent

disruptions in the global banking sector have not dampened the CFOs' mood. The difference between the CFOs who are optimistic about their businesses' prospects and those who are less optimistic was at 25 percentage points. This figure has been below the long-term average reading of -2 percentage points over the past year.

Deloitte Chief Economist Ian Stewart noted that finance leaders reported little change in credit conditions, suggesting that the global banking system's recent events in March did not affect credit availability and pricing for UK corporates. The balance was the highest since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which boosted CFOs' hopes in late 2020. Additionally, worries about Brexit and energy prices' surge had faded for many CFOs, according to Stewart.

The survey conducted between March 21 and April 3, which included 64 CFOs, 11 of whom were from FTSE 100 firms and 24 from FTSE 250 companies, also revealed that a vast majority of CFOs expected a significant increase in capital spending on artificial intelligence (AI) in the next five years. Moreover, two-thirds of them said that AI would help raise Britain's weak productivity growth. Photo by Carlo Dani, Wikimedia commons.