The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that a vote in favour of Scottish independence is set to spook the financial markets.
Success for the Yes campaign would be likely to create “uncertainty” in the short term as politicians thrashed out “complicated” issues, particularly over what currency Scotland would use, it warned on Thursday.
Longer-term, the impact on the economy would be determined by the detailed results of the negotiations carried out in the wake of the vote, the organisation added.
Asked at a regular press briefing if a vote in favour of breaking up the union would deal a huge blow to the British economy, IMF deputy spokesman William Murray said he did not want to comment on the political process itself.
But he added: “A Yes vote would raise a number of important and complicated issues that would have to be negotiated. The main immediate effect is likely to be uncertainty over the transition to potentially new and different monetary, financial, and fiscal frameworks in Scotland.
“While this uncertainty could lead to negative market reactions in the short-term, longer-term effects would depend on the decisions being made during the transition. And I would not want to speculate on this.”
