UK bank account(s) closure

[elsie]

As has been mentioned earlier, HSBC are still accepting applications for current accounts. They ask for income so probably expect regular amounts going into the account
https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts ... shouldknow
You can apply for an HSBC Bank Account if you:
are 18 or older and live in the UK or EU
are happy for us to do a credit check against your name (if you live in the UK)
can provide ID and proof of address if needed
are able to provide proof of your address for the last 3 years, your employment details and your income details. Here’s a list of documents that we accept.

[niemeyjt]

If the figures of two million ex-pats are to be believed, I would have thought there was a good market for a bank to offer its services to those overseas.

It seems HSBC has realised this.

[MAD87]

@MAD87 thanks for that - I've given up looking on NWide - not normal for me but I have been sticking my head in the sand on this in the hope that it wont happen

I suspect we'd all arranged our affairs tidily before 2016, and then wham! the unthinkable happened. My first priority was to change OH's nationality, not worry about bloody bank aaccounts!

[elsie]

If the figures of two million ex-pats are to be believed, I would have thought there was a good market for a bank to offer its services to those overseas.

It seems HSBC has realised this.

I posted this earlier
from https://www.monito.com/en/wiki/how-to-a ... nationals/
One of the most important consequences of Brexit for consumers is that British banks can no longer rely on the EU’s Financial Passporting System, allowing European financial institutions to operate freely within the EEA. Now, in order to offer financial services to UK citizens and Europeans throughout the continent without any friction, they must instead be licensed in each country in which they wish to operate — which might imply opening a subsidiary there, instead of opening a simple branch or providing their services from a third country.

So they will probably only continue in countries where there are enough customers to make it commercially worthwhile.

[exile]

Yesterday afternoon, I went to look at the Nationwide Brexit help pages. Informative, in as far as Brexit is explicable.
NW can no longer operate in Italy or The Netherlands, but it is continuing to negotiate with central banks in other European countries.
That suggests that the situation is more complicated - not just successive Brexit ministers flunking their exchanges with Barnier, but individual banks, etc., being cut loose to pursue their own talks.

With the end of passporting (which essentially meant, we are all in the EU and a registered bank in one EU country can operate in every EU country) each bank has to apply to operate within the EU. Unlike many areas, finance has never been fully harmonised across the EU and the consequence of that is that a non-EU bank has to gain approval and register in each country in which they want to operate.

For some banks, in some countries this is proving to be uneconomic. Bear in mind that to operate in a country, the bank would have to have a separate business entity for that country - which leads to having an office (could be just a room in a business park), staffed (minimum 2 employees - manager and secretary) and most importantly produce annual audited accounts so that tax liabilities can be applied.

So it is a bit more than being cut loose. They were always going to have to jump through these hoops.

Crossed with J's post and so repeats some points he has already made.

[niemeyjt]

I was wondering actually what the EU could do about a UK (or anywhere else for that matter) based bank with no overseas presence offering services to, say, someone with an address in France?

Obviously, the UK regulations on money laundering, know your customer etc would apply still.

Who could they prosecute, where and under what laws?

[exile]

The bank, in the local national courts, breach of conducting business laws* - failure to have an establishment and provide accounts.

* which will vary in detail from country to country. In France it could be construed as working on the black - just as a first transgression.

In a sense this is no different from HMRC dropping like a ton of bricks on someone who should be VAT registered but is not. It is a breach of national laws.

[niemeyjt]

As I say - a UK law compliant bank with no overseas presence - what UK business laws is it breaking and how would that be an EU prosecution?

Indeed, how and where would the French authorities try to prosecute it? Indeed, what would they prosecute - and what is to stop said UK bank just ignoring the whole kaboodle?

[exile]

Prosecution would be in France because that is where the offences have been carried out.


Not sure of the exact procedures but here are some issues to think about.

International warrant - against the bank as an organisation or maybe even the directors as individuals. The UK is still signed up to chasing down tax evasion.
Blacklisting the bank - no French bank can do business with the infringing bank. Impacts - no international transfers from the offending bank. Credit and debit cards from that bank cease to work in France. Remember this works two ways. As well as French banks refusing to accept transactions from the UK bank, they also cannot pay owings to that bank - analogy with failure of Russia to pay its bills on bonds issued.
Once a bank is backlisted in one EU country, there will be careful examination across the EU and you could expect further blacklisting.
Credit rating impacted.
Banks shares fall as a result.
Investors take legal action against the directors for failing to take proper action to protect the value of their assets (acting illegally - even in another country does not go down well with the market or the UK authorities, which is why when there is a banking scandal someone at a senior level takes a dive and resigns.
No point in chasing him, he is only worth x million, when we have lost billions)

I don't think this is a route that a bank is going to take.

[MAD87]

To get away from bank persecutions for a min....I'm getting there! I think staying with Wise (where I opened an account a while back) as a fallback would be, well, wise. Apparently I have a UK sort code, a/c no. etc., which presumably will do for NS&I as an alternative depository for PB prizes.
I've cleared half my desk and found the (unused) Wise card....if I clear the other half, I might find its accompanying letter with all said details!
I know. I'm a messy slut.