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09 June 2016

The Telegraph: Brexit might trigger run on Britain's record financial debts, S&P warns


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Britain is the world’s most vulnerable state on a key measure of short-term debt and credit markets might suddenly seize up if voters opt for Brexit, Standard & Poor’s has warned.


The US credit rating agency is crystal clear that Britain will be stripped of its coveted AAA status immediately and may face a double-barrelled downgrade if the country takes a leap in dark, jeopardizing its trading and financial ties to its biggest market.

“We are categorical about this,” said Moritz Kraemer, the agency’s head of sovereign ratings.

There is no clear ‘Plan B’ in the UK and we are not going to wait until we find out what the British position actually isMoritz Kraemer, S&P

“There is no clear ‘Plan B’ in the UK and we are not going to wait until we find out what the British position actually is. We could potentially see a two-notch downgrade,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Kraemer said the British financial system is extremely dependent on external financing. This is the Achilles Heel for an economy that relies so heavily on the City of London, and has a current account deficit above 5pc of GDP – the highest in Britain’s peace-time history.

The level of debt coming due over the next 12 months is 755pc of the country’s external receipts, the highest for all 131 sovereign states rated by S&P. This compares to 318pc for the US and 316pc for France, the next two states most exposed. [...]

Mr Kraemer said any storm is likely to blow over but there could be a dramatic impact if capital flight suddenly picks up or large sums switch from London to Dublin or other financial centres. Data from the Bank of England shows that a net £65bn left the country in March and April, the highest since the global financial crisis.

"Creditors might decide to rebalance their portfolios until the dust settles. All it takes is a little less money coming in, and a little moving somewhere else, and the implications could be large," he said.

Standard & Poor’s also warned that the EU itself is at risk if Britain pulls out, a consequence that has been widely ignored. “The EU as an issuer of debt would lose one of its biggest contributors,” said Mr Kraemer.

“To lose a member state for the first time raises serious questions about the ‘franchise value’ of the EU and the stability of the undertaking. Once virginity is lost, you can’t get it back,” he said. [...]

Full article on The Daily Telegraph



© The Telegraph


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