Investors are moving billions of pounds in assets out of the UK economy for fear that the UK may vote to leave the European Union on 23 June.
Around £65bn of assets and currency left the UK in March and April, the largest withdrawal since the economic crash in 2008. This compares with just £2bn being transferred out of the UK in the six months to October last year.
The figures, published by the Bank of England, show that investors have become nervous about the result of the EU referendum, with the biggest transfers out of the UK coming shortly after former London mayor Boris Johnson announced he would campaign for the UK to leave the EU, or “Brexit”.
In response to investor nerves, the pound plunged to a three-week low on Tuesday, with HSBC warning that the value of sterling could fall by up to 20 percent if Britain chose to leave the EU, reducing Britons’ purchasing power abroad and increasing the prices for imported goods such as electronics.
