By Jason Douglas
LONDON--British Prime Minister David Cameron will chair a
meeting Monday with the governor of the Bank of England and other
top officials to assess the fallout from the outcome of Greece's
referendum, U.K. Treasury chief George Osborne said Sunday.
Greeks vote Sunday on whether to accept a rescue deal from the
European Union and other international creditors that could decide
the country's fate as a member of the eurozone. Opinion polls
suggest the outcome is too close to call.
Mr. Osborne told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the U.K.
won't be immune to any economic or financial-market turmoil that
follows the vote, even though it isn't a member of the 19-nation
single currency union.
"I don't think anyone should be in any doubt [that] the Greek
situation has an impact on the European economy, which has an
impact on us. We cannot be immune from these developments," Mr.
Osborne said in an interview on The Andrew Marr Show.
His remarks underscore how the Greek debt crisis is rattling
nerves in capitals outside the eurozone. U.S. Treasury chief Jacob
Lew, in a May visit to Europe, urged European policy makers to find
a swift resolution to the standoff between Athens and its
creditors.
The Bank of England warned Wednesday that the outlook for
financial stability in the U.K. had deteriorated in recent days as
the Greek debt crisis intensified.
Mr. Carney told reporters that British banks' direct exposure to
Greece is minimal, but officials fret the Greek crisis could cause
a selloff in financial markets or hurt the wider European
economy.
The BOE governor said the central bank has been working with the
U.K. Treasury and authorities across Europe to draw up contingency
plans to shield the U.K. economy from harm, although he didn't
elaborate. He did say regulators have in stepped up their scrutiny
and engagement with the U.K. branches of some Greek lenders.
British holidaymakers and Greece's roughly 40,000 British
residents are another concern for officials. The U.K. Foreign
Office updated its travel advice for Greece on Monday, warning that
banking services in the country could potentially become limited at
short notice and urged British visitors to carry sufficient euros
in cash to cover their stay. Mr. Osborne on Monday told lawmakers
the U.K. has offered to help any British retirees in Greece to
switch bank accounts if they are concerned their U.K. pension
payments may be disrupted by restrictions placed on Greece's banks
by the Athens government.
He said Sunday that "whatever Greece decides, Britain is
prepared."
Write to Jason Douglas at Jason.Douglas@wsj.com