Debt is out of favour has been saved
Deloitte Insights
Debt is out of favour
Deloitte CFO Survey: 2023 Q3
October 2023
The quarterly Deloitte CFO Survey has been gauging sentiment and balance-sheet strategies among the UK’s largest businesses since 2007.
Key findings
- CFOs rate bank borrowing as less attractive as a source of financing than at any time since at least 2007, with a growing focus on debt reduction.
- Concerns linger about the outlook for inflation. Although inflation may have peaked for this cycle, CFOs expect inflation to be running at 3.1% in two years’ time, above the Bank of England’s expectation. They also think wage growth is likely to slow over the next 12 months from 6.2% to 4.3%.
- Despite uncertainties, levels of business confidence rose in the third quarter and are running slightly above average, with a net 9% feeling more optimistic about the financial prospects for their company than three months ago.
- CFOs see government policy as the biggest driver of their own response to climate change. 58% of CFOs believe their businesses will face significant or wholesale change in the move to a low-carbon economy in the next 10 years, with only 4% seeing little or no change. The vast majority (82%) continue to see opportunities for their own businesses in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
- Most CFOs (54%) have become more optimistic that AI can deliver improvements to business performance. 86% reported that their understanding of AI and its uses has increased.
Explore the data
Download the PDF to access all the historical data series from the Deloitte CFO Survey. Data from the CFO Survey is also hosted on Thomson Reuters Datastream, Bloomberg, Factset and Macrobond. Please feel free to use any of the data series in your documents or presentations.
Email Tom Simmons to receive a copy of our spreadsheet containing our CFO Survey data.
“Higher interest rates have flipped a decade-old consensus which was previously in favour of debt finance. This shift in thinking means that equity finance, which has been out of favour for years, is now seen as being more attractive than debt finance. Finance leaders are preparing for a period of high interest rates, with predicted rates falling only slightly over the next year. If realised, this would represent a period of tight monetary policy, the likes of which has not been seen since 2008.”
Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte
Previous editions
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2023 Q2
Interest rate worries
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2023 Q1
Business confidence bounces
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2022 Q4
Credit conditions tighten
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2022 Q3
The credit squeeze is here
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2022 Q2
Braced for recession
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2022 Q1
Growth in a riskier world
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2021 Q4
Going for Growth
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2021 Q3
Investment is the focus
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2021 Q2
Growth is the priority
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2021 Q1
CFO optimism reaches record levels
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2020 Q4
2021: Lasting change and growth
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2020 Q3
The long COVID recovery
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2020 Q2
No quick bounce back
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2020 Q1
Crash, slow recovery, lasting change
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2019 Q4
Business confidence soars
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2019 Q3
Persistent uncertainty takes its toll
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2019 Q2
Corporate caution, financial market optimism
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2019 Q1
The dash for cash
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2018 Q4
Cost is king
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2018 Q3
Deal or no deal – that is the question
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2018 Q2
Defensive and watchful
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2018 Q1
Brexit transition boosts business confidence
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2017 Q4
Focus on cost control, no retreat on growth
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2017 Q3
Optimism bounces
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2017 Q2
Post election dip in business confidence
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2017 Q1
Brexit shock eases
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2016 Q4
Greater optimism yet to ignite risk appetite
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2016 Q3
Brexit looms large
The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2016 Q2
Brexit blow to business confidence
Meet the authors
Recommendations
Alternative Lender Deal Tracker
This issue covers data for Q1 2022.
The Economy
Exploring the business impacts of COVID-19, Brexit and beyond
