BRUSSELS: A British exit from the European Union would be severely damaging for both parties and like a divorce, the head of one of the biggest insurers and chairman of the influential Bilderberg group has warned.
Henri de Castries, chairman of Axa, said a so-called Brexit would “diminish both the status and influence of the UK” and leave the country as a “big Switzerland”.
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In a wide-ranging interview, de Castries also compared the recent slide in the Chinese stock market to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and said the private sector had a decisive role to play in tackling climate change.
De Castries is a key voice in the debate about Britain’s future in the EU given Axa is one of Europe’s biggest companies and he is chairman of the secretive Bilderberg group of political and business leaders from Europe and North America. The group also includes the British chancellor, George Osborne, the Google chairman, Eric Schmidt, and Douglas Flint, chairman of HSBC.
