Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has today downgraded the United Kingdom's long-term issuer rating to Aa2 from Aa1 and changed the outlook to stable from negative. The UK's senior unsecured bond rating was also downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1.The key drivers for the decision to downgrade the UK's ratings to Aa2 are as follows:

1. The outlook for the UK's public finances has weakened significantly since the negative outlook on the Aa1 rating was assigned, with the government's fiscal consolidation plans increasingly in question and the debt burden expected to continue to rise;

2. Fiscal pressures will be exacerbated by the erosion of the UK's medium-term economic strength that is likely to result from the manner of its departure from the European Union (EU), and by the increasingly apparent challenges to policy-making given the complexity of Brexit negotiations and associated domestic political dynamics.