U.K. Said to Seek to Calm Investors After May’s Brexit Speech
- Treasury planning to speak to major banks to offer reassurance
- Pound falls below $1.20 amid reports May planning hard Brexit
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The U.K. government is drawing up plans to try to reassure investors amid expectations that Prime Minister Theresa May’s long-awaited blueprint for Brexit will cause more market turmoil, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Government officials expect sterling to take another hit when May sets out her vision for leaving the bloc in a speech on Tuesday, and the Treasury is preparing to speak to major banks in London to try to smooth the reaction, said the people, who declined to be named as the plans aren’t public. While Treasury officials often reach out to banks to explain policy, it’s unusual for the prime minister’s office to anticipate a bad market reaction, they said.