The CBI is stepping up its campaign to persuade government to bring forward plans to ease the flow of credit, as it says financial services companies are suffering the largest falls in income and profitability since the employers’ organisation started surveying the sector almost 20 years ago.

John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general, said “credit is the number one issue”, predicting other measures to boost the economy such as lower interest rates or fiscal policy would not work until more normal lending to companies was resumed.