Brexit Communication

The transition period

Dear Client,

The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020 and entered into the transition period to allow time for the UK and the EU to agree their future relationship. During the transition period the UK remained in both the EU customs union and the single market and passporting rights for European Economic Area (EEA) financial services firms continued. The transition period will end at 11pm GMT on 31 December 2020.

What happens when the transition period ends?

During the transition period, the UK government has been negotiating with the EU to determine a free trade deal. This will be essential if the UK wants to be able to continue to trade with the EU with no tariffs, quotas or other barriers after the transition period ends.

For financial services, passporting rights will cease at the end of the transition period. Those EEA firms currently operating in the UK under a passport will require a Part 4A Permission under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) to continue to carry out regulated activities in the UK.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (ABN AMRO Bank) has applied for the Part 4A Permission and expects to have the application approved in due course. At the end of the transition period, ABN AMRO Bank will enter into the UK’s Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR). The TPR allows EEA firms that wish to continue to operate in the UK to do so until their Part 4A Permission is granted by the UK Regulators.

Both the TPR and the Part 4A Permission will cover all activities that ABN AMRO Bank was permitted to carry on in the UK under the passporting regime before the end of the transition period.

What this means for you

For clients of the UK International Desk, there are some minor changes to our services and these are set out in letters that have been sent to you directly and is available on our website here.

For all other clients, there will be no change to the services and products available to you during the TPR period whilst the application process for ABN AMRO Bank’s Part 4A Permission is concluded. There is no need for you to take any action at this time. We will further update this communication towards the end of the year when the transition period comes to an end.

If you have any questions, please contact us through your normal channels.

Yours sincerely,

ABN AMRO Bank