Various U.K. Banks' Ratings Affirmed; Outlooks Still Mainly Negative On Continued Economic Uncertainty Related To Brexit

OVERVIEW Since the Brexit vote in June 2016, the U.K.'s economic performance has remained fairly robust but there are early signs of a slowdown. Our base case for the U.K. economy is premised on a "hard" but largely orderly Brexit, with a transitional deal that avoids a regulatory cliff-edge when the U.K. leaves the EU in March 2019. That said, we see continued, marked downside risk to our base case, given that reaching a deal means addressing the sheer technical complexity involved, the multiplicity of economic and political interests, and the limited timeframe. We continue to believe that U.K. banks' strengthened capital, liquidity, and funding profiles provide considerable flexibility to manage an extended period of economic and market uncertainty, but

...OVERVIEW + Since the Brexit vote in June 2016, the U.K.'s economic performance has remained fairly robust but there are early signs of a slowdown. Our base case for the U.K. economy is premised on a "hard" but largely orderly Brexit, with a transitional deal that avoids a regulatory cliff-edge when the U.K. leaves the EU in March 2019. + That said, we see continued, marked downside risk to our base case, given that reaching a deal means addressing the sheer technical complexity involved, the multiplicity of economic and political interests, and the limited timeframe. + We continue to believe that U.K. banks' strengthened capital, liquidity, and funding profiles provide considerable flexibility to manage an extended period of economic and market uncertainty, but that they could weaken in a marked downside scenario. + We are therefore affirming our ratings on various U.K. domestic banks and maintaining mostly negative outlooks. LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) May 31, 2017--S&P Global Ratings...

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