Brexit would not have an impact on UK´s credit rating

The government´s ability to repay its debts might not be negatively impacted should voters decide they want the UK to leave the European Union, a top ratings agency said on Sunday.

In remarks to the Sunday Telegraph, Kathrin Muehlbronner, senior vice president at Moody's, said the uncertainty alone might not dent the economy´s strength enough to justify a downgrade of the country´s long-term credit ratings.

"What we care about is economic strength, and it is our view that the economic impact of a Brexit would be negative. The question is: how big would the damage be? Would we just be looking at a short-term moderation of growth where the UK puts in place other policies that mitigate the other downsides?," she said.

"In that case, it might well be that there is no impact on the rating. For example, in a scenario where growth falls that doesn't change some of the fundamentals of the UK, we see it as a very strong, large, diversified and rich economy, with strong institutions."

Rival agency Standard&Poor´s on the other hand is on record saying that an 'exit' could lead to a two-notch downgrade and has already lowered its outlook on Britain´s triple-A rating - the highest possible grade - because of the risks to the economy that a referendum poses.

However, both Moody´s and Fitch already downgraded their ratings for the UK in 2013, because they judged that Westminster was cutting the public spending deficit too slowly.