BoE's Carney sees market swings as Brexit crunch nears

• Carney said the financial system was in good shape for Brexit and that it could accommodate big shifts in financial markets depending on the outcome.
• Developments over the course of the next several days, the next several weeks, will have a material impacts on the value of the pound, the value of shares.

LONDON: Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Tuesday that he expected to see large swings in financial markets as the Brexit process reaches a critical stage.

"Developments over the course of the next several days, the next several weeks, will have a material impacts on the value of the pound, the value of shares, the cost of debt for UK banks and companies, in either direction depending on how those developments transpire," Carney told a panel of lawmakers.

Carney said the financial system was in good shape for Brexit and that it could accommodate big shifts in financial markets depending on the outcome.

Asked whether he was concerned about hedge funds shorting the pound, Carney said the BoE was focused on the strength of the financial system as a whole, and that individual institutions' bets would not affect the wider economy.