...OVERVIEW + Economic growth in the U.K. has decelerated in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum; S&P Global Ratings expects growth will slow further, averaging 1.2% a year in 2017-2019, compared to an average of 2.1% over 2015-2016. + Negotiations between the U.K. and the EU on Brexit remain difficult and protracted, as we expected, with attendant downside risks in the case of a disorderly outcome. An orderly Brexit with a transitional arrangement is still our base case. + However, in our view, the U.K.'s large and diversified banks are showing increased resilience, seen in solid underlying post-provision earnings, more disciplined underwriting, the effective completion of the run-off of legacy non-core assets, and substantial progress toward end-state regulatory capital and loss-absorbing capacity requirements. + In light of this, we see the industry as now better positioned to deal with uncertainties--and potential turbulence--in the run-up to the U.K.'s exit from the EU in March 2019....
