Looming Brexit vote prompts Citi to advise against trading the pound today

Expected defeat for May in Brexit vote to boost volatility

Citigroup Inc.’s private-banking arm is advising its high-net-worth clients to stop trading the pound, at least for today. The cause: the looming Brexit vote that is likely to see sterling’s volatility skyrocket and could seal the fate of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.

“Over the next 24 hours what all we’re going to find out is the degree to which May loses, how much she loses by,” David Bailin, global head of investments at Citi Private Bank, said at a briefing Tuesday morning in Singapore. “That is not something that one actually trades on.”

Investors are bracing for rising volatility in the