CFS Index is on the rise again
FRANKFURT, 9 February 2023.
The CFS index, which measures the business climate of the German financial sector on a quarterly basis, rises by +5.5 points to 107.8 points in the fourth quarter of 2022. It is now -7.5 points below the previous year’s level.
The positive development is primarily based on the financial sector’s confident outlook for the current first quarter. Increased revenue and earnings growth is expected, especially among the financial
institutions. In addition, the financial institutions anticipate a further increase in employee growth and have posted higher growth in their revenues, earnings and employee numbers for the fourth quarter of 2022. Only the investment growth of the financial institutions remains stagnant at the previous year’s level. By contrast, the financial service providers report weaker performance for the fourth quarter of 2022. In particular, revenue growth falls below the neutral level of 100 points and thus to the lowest level since 2009. Only their investment growth shows a modest increase. Nevertheless, the service providers also have a confident outlook for the current quarter. “The industry’s higher expectations in all the dimensions measured point to an overall positive development in 2023,” comments Professor Rainer Klump, Director of the Center for Financial Studies.
(Survey conducted 12 January – 30 January 2023 for the results of the fourth quarter 2022)