Financial institutions would feel the "greatest impact" from a default on US debt should the White House and Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling by their August 2 deadline, Standard and Poor's said in a report published on Friday.

In a series of reports examining the potential effects of a default on US debt, Standard and Poor's said banks, funds, finance companies, exchanges and clearing houses, broker-dealers and life insurers, particularly those that rely on short-term funding, would be