Brexit is not expected to be solved by next deadline - CNBC survey of global CFOs

Brexit won’t be solved by the end of October and the European Union (EU) will need to grant yet another deadline, according to the CNBC's survey of the senior financial executives from some of the largest public and private companies in the world, collectively managing nearly $5 trillion in market value.

After missing an end of March exit date, Britain and Northern Ireland are now set to leave the EU on October 31, but the withdrawal agreement has not yet been approved by the UK MPs in London.

Representatives from the ruling Conservative Party and Britain's main opposition Labour Party are currently in talks to see if a cross-party deal can break a deadlock which has brought the process to a halt. However, within both parties, there are deep divides over any joint plan, with a growing chorus calling for a second “confirmatory” referendum on any deal.

According to the latest survey, published Tuesday, 35.6% of chief financial officers (CFOs) now see yet another extension to the Brexit deadline as the most probable option. Exactly 20% percent of respondents think Britain will hold another referendum while 26.7% think the country will leave on the October date with a deal in place.

Just 2.2% of those asked believe that Brexit will happen at the end of October with no deal whatsoever. That marks an enormous shift in sentiment from February this year, when 40.7% of CFOs thought “no-deal” was the most probable option.