WASHINGTON: Ratings agency Moody's confirmed Britain's credit rating at "Aa1" on Friday, saying that Scotland's rejection of independence has preserved the strengths of the country's institutions and financial system.
"Moody's decision to affirm the UK's rating follows the outcome of the referendum on Scottish independence, which maintains the 307-year-old union, thereby preserving the country's current institutional and fiscal framework," the company said.
Moody's noted however that a 'yes' vote for independence on Thursday would not have significantly changed Britain's credit profile.
According to the ratings firm, the promises made by the government of Prime Minister David Cameron to confer more powers to the four nations that make up the United Kingdom will not affect the outlook for one of the world's most credit-worthy countries.
"While the political process going forward will likely lead to further devolution of powers to Scotland and some changes in the fiscal transfers, the rating agency does not anticipate that these will have a material impact on the quality of the UK's institutions, or its financial strength," it said.
Moody's said it was keeping Britain's outlook stable, suggesting that it did not expect to change the rating in the coming months.
Britain, the world's sixth-biggest economy, has "very high" strength, reflecting its size, diversity and elevated levels of competition, as well as flexible labor market, it said.
Although the pace of the recovery after the global financial crisis was weaker than expected, the economy has more recently returned to growth in line with its historical trend of 2.0-2.5 percent.
"The structural economic strengths of the UK also indicate that trend growth will remain in line with this historic performance," Moody's said.
The British economy grew by 0.8 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter, and expanded by 3.2 percent year-over-year.
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