UK financial sector confidence falls further amid Brexit

LONDON (AP) - A new survey shows that optimism in the financial services sector has fallen for a third consecutive quarter - the longest drop since the global financial crisis in 2009.

The CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey of 115 firms shows finance houses, building societies and investment firms reported the sharpest drops in optimism as uncertainty after the vote to leave the European Union took hold.

The results are important because so much of Britain's economy hinges on financial services - some 2 million people across the U.K. are directly or indirectly employed by the financial services sector.

Andrew Kail, U.K. financial services leader at consultancy PwC, says the worry is about "the domino effect on people, productivity and position as a financial hub that must be guarded against."