CITY VIEWS: CAN THE BRITISH ECONOMY COPE WITH A HUNG PARLIAMENT?
PRAKASH AGARWAL | UBS
“Yes, I come from India where coalition government is the norm and we never have any problems. The politicians will be sensible enough to come to a decision that is right for the country and a coalition will keep them honest. I understand there’s concern over the deficit but I think this has all been overhyped.”
STUART KIRK | DEUTSCHE BANK
“The result is a terrible thing for the country and we are now at the mercy of the politicians. The markets have taken a battering over the last couple of days and this isn’t going to help. I think a Conservative government is the way forward but we won’t end up like Greece as our economy is much bigger and our debt problems are not quite as bad.”
RUSHI LUHAR | BANK OF TOKYO
“People in the City are demanding stability and if there is still no clarity next week about who’s going to be in government then there will be a significant impact on the markets. But I’m not fussed about which Party is in power as they are going to face the same predicament over the next 18 months, namely cutting the budget deficit. ”
SEBASTIAN LUNA | BLOOMBERG
“I can’t understand what everybody is panicking about. I’m from Germany, which has a hung parliament, and we are one of the strongest economies in the world. This is an over reaction to the situation. The UK economy will continue to perform well and there is no crisis looming, unlike Greece, Portugal and Spain.”