Ahead of the UK Government releasing guidance on a no-deal, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab said Brussels’ “goodwill” was essential for expats enjoying continued access to their money.
The technical notes, published on Thursday afternoon, confirmed that expats “may lose the ability to access existing lending and deposit services, insurance contracts, such as life insurance contracts and annuities…”
The notes suggest firms set up EU subsidiaries and promise unilateral action on the UK side to help resolve differences.
For example, the UK is committed to “continue to treat prospectuses that are valid in the UK before exit, including those approved by a competent authority in a different EU member state, as valid for the remainder of the 12 months from their date of approval, including where that includes a period after the UK exits the EU”.
Brexit uncertainty continues
Raab stressed a deal was “in sight”, however, his confidence is not shared by the UK public.
In a survey of 3,044 people ahead of the guidance notes being released, KPMG found that 54% of the public expect the UK to leave the EU without a deal, while only 20% believe that scenario is likely to be avoided.
KPMG stressed companies should prepare themselves for financial belt-tightening across the country, as well as disruption to supplies from the continent in the wake of Brexit.
No surprises
Commenting on the guidance, Andrew Pilgrim, government financial services leader at EY, said: “There is nothing that will take the financial services industry by surprise in today’s Brexit papers, and firms will continue preparing for a ‘no deal’ in March 2019, as they have been doing to date.
“While today’s papers reiterate that the UK Government is doing all it can to maintain continuity in that scenario, there is a limit to what they can promise unilaterally. Whether there would be similar flexibility from the EU is likely to remain unclear for some time. Until then uncertainty remains the word of the moment.”
