Given the time of year, there has been a plethora of predictions for 2019 but wealth manager Spearvest is easily the most gloomy.

The firm found that a large percentage of the UK population expect a financial crash and house price collapse this year, even worse than the events of 2008.

Of the 1000 consumers polled, 44 percent foresaw a financial collapse while 41 percent predict a housing crash.

Wael Al-Nahedh, chief executive of Spearvest, said: “With widespread concern around the performance of the housing market and the wider economy, 2019 already looks set to be a challenging year for investors.”

Despite banks seemingly cleaning up their acts in terms of misconduct, there remains a feeling of distrust of these institutions from the general public.

Some famous investors like Terry Smith are vehemently against investing in banks but Spearvest’s survey found only 14 percent had forgiven them for their behaviour over a decade ago.

The survey also found over half did not believe banks had consumers’ best interests at heart.

Mr Al-Nahedh added: “It’s also clear that the financial services industry needs to do much more to win back trust of the public, supporting good causes and demonstrating a genuine commitment to charitable giving.”