A drop in business confidence was seen last month, new research indicates.

Despite some falls, a new set of figures showed that the majority of businesses remained confident about their financial prospects in December.

Lloyds TSB reveals in its latest Corporate Markets Business Barometer that 52 per cent of firms feel more optimistic about their economic prospects in December then they did three months before.

And although this represents a fall from the 67 per cent who felt this way in November, the bank is keen to point out it is a significant improvement from the end of 2008.

Trevor Williams, chief economist for Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, comments: "Although confidence levels fell back at the end of the year, the context here is critical. Across the board, businesses are now far more optimistic about the economic outlook that than they were 12 months earlier."

And as he states that the pace of economic recovery looks set to be "uneven", firms may want to seek best business bank accounts to help steer them through any tough times.

Organisations considering their use of business accounts over the coming months could be interested to hear 26 per cent of respondents believe their economic prospects in December were the same as those in September.

In addition, entrepreneurs assessing their bank account requirements may be interested to acknowledge comments from British Chambers of Commerce chief economist David Kern who claimed the financial recovery will be at "a very modest pace".