In the ten years spanning 1996 to 2006, the sector's output grew by 76.4 per cent compared with 43.5 per cent for the services sector as a whole.
The financial sector certainly has clout, currently accounting for around 9.4 per cent of the nation's GDP.
According to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) these figures bring further confirmation of the importance of the financial sector to the UK economy.
The Association's chief executive, Angela Knight said it was a 'sharp reminder' that the UK had built up a 'world-beating industry.'
She said: “Financial services are the powerhouse of the UK economy: a massive contributor to the Exchequer through tax, an employer of more than a million people directly and one of the UK’s last acknowledged world-leading industries.
"Financial companies directly pay £12 billion in tax, their employees pay £15 billion in income tax and the sector currently contributes over £100 billion annually to UK economic growth."
