THE ruling class continues to dominate the finance industry, new research has confirmed, demonstrating that people from poorer backgrounds are still being locked out of the profession because of their clothes and accent.

Four out of five — 81 per cent — of senior figures in finance think the way candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds present themselves during interviews is preventing them getting a job in the industry, according to research published by the Sutton Trust today.

This was a higher proportion than the number of respondents — 77 per cent — who said that school or university results were affecting the job prospects of applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.