BoE will allow EU banks to operate as normal after Brexit

Announcement due to be made public at 1pm today

The Bank of England (BoE) will be unveilling plans today allowing European banks to operate in the UK as normal post-Brexit, even if no divorce deal is struck between London and Brussels, the BBC reported.

The decision, due to be made public at 1pm today, would mean European banks offering wholesale services would not face new hurdles to operating in London, which vies with New York for the title of the world’s financial capital.

Branches offer an easy way for banks to move money around their international operations. But they present the risk that, in the event of a financial crisis, funds are quickly repatriated to the foreign bank’s headquarters – leaving customers of the UK branch out of pocket.

Currently, banks based anywhere in the EU can sell services to anywhere else in the EU thanks to an instrument known as a financial services passport