LONDON?The credit crunch will cost London 62,000 financial jobs in 2008 and 2009, wiping out the hiring gains of the past decade, a British economics consultancy group said in a report on Monday.

The number of professionals in London's financial industry -- Europe's biggest -- will drop by 28,000 this year from the 2007 level and a further 34,000 jobs will go next year, said the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

Only 291,000 will work in the industry in 2009, it added.

"The chances for a strong bounce-back ... from 2010 onwards appear to be slim," CEBR said.

It is unclear how many jobs have already been cut this year, a spokesman for CEBR said.

The worst-hit sector will be corporate finance, likely to slash more than half of its 15,000-strong workforce in the next two years. The derivatives business will be a close second, with employment shrinking by 46 percent over the same period.

In investment banking, more than 10,000 jobs -- or almost one-sixth -- will disappear over this and next year.

CEBR's job estimates also include equities and bonds businesses, foreign exchange, fund management, insurance and professional services.

Those still in work will be paid much smaller bonuses, with the 2008 London payout down 42 percent on last year, the consultancy said last week.