Business volumes in the UK financial services sector in the three months to December saw a surprisingly strong rise, while confidence in the sector remained stable, according to a survey published Monday by the Confederation of British Industry and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The survey showed that business volumes in the last quarter rose at the fastest rate since March 2000. The business volumes balance stood at 30% compared with 13% in September and 52% at the same time a year earlier. This far exceeded expectations of 16% for the latest three months. However, growth is expected to slow in the next three months with the expectations balance at 22% in December. The survey showed that banks and general insurers reported the sharpest increases in business volumes while securities traders, fund managers and finance houses saw marked declines. Business confidence in the financial services sector remained stable with a balance at 2% in December compared with 3% in September. Profitability rose at a much slower rate than in September although there were significant differences across the sectors, with general insurance reporting strong growth and securities houses seeing a sharp fall and most sectors now expect a fall over the coming three months consistent with a squeeze on margins. General insurers meanwhile remain optimistic that there recent growth and profitability will be sustained in the short term. Turning to employment this grew modestly in the fourth quarter and a further small increase is expected in the first quarter if this year, with declines in Banks and building societies expected to be offset by employment growth in general and life insurance and fund management. The CBI also undertook a special service of e-business. This report showed that e-business was developing across the sector, with 27% of firms saying that the value of internet business rose over the past quarter while 2% said it fell. Sudhir Junankar the CBI's associate director of economic analysis commented "it is clear that e-business is spanning across the industry but at a slower rate than expected". A lack of understanding among customer and suppliers has hindered the development of e-business and there are concerns about the lack of security standards, the speed of the internet as well as availability of professional staff.