U.K. lenders found ready if exit messy, getlinkinfo

LONDON -- Britain's most important lenders are strong enough to withstand a "disorderly" exit from the European Union and could even weather an acute recession, the Bank of England said Tuesday.

U.K. lenders found ready if exit messy

While concluding that they would still have enough capital to provide credit to households and businesses if Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal, the central bank warned that the picture wouldn't be so clear-cut if a "hard Brexit" happens during a sharp global recession.

In its annual stress test of the sector, the central bank said the country's seven biggest lenders, including Barclays and Lloyds Bank, were "resilient" overall to adverse scenarios, including deep recessions at home and abroad and hefty falls in the price of assets.

"Despite the severity of the tests, for the first time since the bank began stress testing in 2014, no bank needs to strengthen its capital position as a result," Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney said.

Stress tests have become a key policy instrument of central banks since the global financial crisis. In Britain's case, many of the country's banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland, had to be bailed out by taxpayers at the height of the global crash in 2008 because they weren't strong enough to cope with the shock.



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