Standard and Poor´s say Ireland is most exposed to Brexit
Ratings agency carried out analysis on the effect of Britain's potential exit from the EU
- Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus also predicted to be badly hit, says S&P
- June 23rd referendum will decide whether Britain sticks or twists on EU membership
Close neighbours of Britain the Republic of Ireland are most at risk economically outside the UK in the case of Brexit. Ratings agency Standard and Poor's have reaffirmed what was revealed today by the OECD report on annual economic outlook.
Read: Ireland and Luxembourg to be worst hit outside UK if Brexit passes - OECD report
Other countries most likely to be affected are Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus, all areas with close economic ties with Britain.
The agency analysed 20 countries and found that these were the most vulnerable to economic problems. The analysis measured goods and services exports to the UK compared with domestic GDP, bidirectional migrant flows, financial sector claims on UK counterparties (including off balance sheet claims), and foreign direct investment in the UK.
The agency analysed 20 countries and found that these were the most vulnerable to economic problems
“According to this methodology, Ireland and other small open financial centres lead the list of sovereigns vulnerable to a UK decision to exit the EU,” said S&P analyst Frank Gill in today's report.
Ireland, among others such as Portugal, Spain and Greece, were one of the most badly affected countries during the 2008 global financial crisis, after experiencing a huge property boom which burst with a very explosive bang.
According to the report, only two countries in the 20 are outside of the EU, Switzerland and Canada.
“Of course, our index does not reflect the potential political and market aftershocks of Brexit,” said the report. “However, it does distil the current real and financial economic links to the UK economy, the world’s fifth largest.”