The Middle East conflict has been impacting many different aspects of our lives and now, new research tells us how it鈥檚 impacting UK and European consumers鈥� finances.
Figures fom CRIF鈥檚 upcoming 2026听Banking on Banks report series found that British consumers seem to be the most pessimistic out of all European countries. The pessimism relates to finances in the year to come after the conflict and instability was reported as the biggest financial concerns in Europe.
The CRIF report found that 51% of the UK consumers surveyed consider instability and conflict in the Middle East a top concern. Also at 51%, is ongoing high inflation and rising costs.
The rest of the list for consumers was as follows:
- Strained EU-US relations (such as the tariffs) 鈥� 30%
- Ukraine War 鈥� 29%
- Economic slowdown in the UK 鈥� 29%
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So, Why Are UK Consumers The Most Pessimistic Of The EU Group?
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According to the research, 39% of UK consumers expect to have less leftover money at the end of the month for the next year. 20% are worried about affording their bills in the next year. The amount of money going into savings has gone down for 32% of the consumers and more have opted for credit options such as BNPL services.
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[skynews
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To this, 58% of the consumers say financial services should be looking at giving out more affordable offerings when things are this difficult financially. But only 30% see these services doing enough to do so.
This is difficult for some consumers because UK consumers are the most likely to get a no when applying for credit. 8% of them have already been turned down this year.
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What About UK Businesses?
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The numbers for UK businesses are slightly different. These are the top concerns:
- Ongoing high inflation and rising costs 鈥� 37%
- Economic slowdown in the UK 鈥� 37%
- Instability and conflict in the Middle East 鈥� 34%
- Global economic slowdown 鈥� 28%
- EU economic slowdown 鈥� 26%
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34% of businesses say they have already revised their growth plans and 26% are prioritising cost-efficiency and 28% have paused hiring for now. These are all decisions impacted by the lack of optimism for the future.
Sara Costantini, Regional Director for the UK & Ireland at CRIF, said, 鈥淕eopolitical shocks are no longer distant headlines for European households and businesses 鈥� they are directly shaping how people spend, borrow and plan for the future.
鈥淚n the UK in particular, the picture is downbeat. British consumers are now among the most pessimistic in Europe about their personal finances for the year ahead, with more than half already planning to cut back. Tighter affordability, rising fraud risks and growing uncertainty mean many households and businesses are finding it harder to access the support they need, just as financial pressure is intensifying.
鈥淔inancial services remain highly valued, but confidence in delivery is fragile. For banks and lenders, rising credit risk across mortgages, SME lending, and consumer credit is likely to drive more conservative underwriting, lending and investment strategies. The providers best placed to navigate this period will be those that combine stronger, data鈥憀ed decision鈥憁aking with a genuinely human understanding of the pressures their customers are facing 鈥� ensuring that risk management does not come at the expense of access, trust and financial resilience.鈥�
