Lloyds bank close UK citizens account EUs in EU

GerardDaley

03 Sept 2020, received a generic letter from Lloyds bank UK stating closure of my UK account ! Citing BREXIT reasons !
I reside in The Netherlands due to work reasons, but I’ve had a Lloyds account for over 30 yrs! On complaint Lloyds informed me only two Member states of EU affected ;Netherlands and Slovakia, Lloyds said due to Brexit a bank licensing issue had  arisen with these two countries! Nothing to do with Brexit at all ! 

25 other EU Member states unaffected !
 As a UK citizen I’m discriminated against as I live in The Netherlands !
 I want to retain my UK bank account as I may return and all my family still live there ! For your information and maybe possibly other folk may be affected 
help if possible Stop Lloyds bank closing UK citizens accounts who live in the EU ! 

Shakin_Steve

Your ! button is obviously sticking. How can a banking license issue due to brexit have nothing to do with brexit? How do you think, exactly, we can stop Lloyds discriminating against you?

London7766551

This was discussed in a very similar thread this past week:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6184338/lloyds-closing-accounts#latest

Basically there is nothing you can do except find another account. Banks are assuming there will be no deal. I assume these two countries are of little value to Lloyds so they don't want to set up office or do a deal locally. 

A letter from Coutts, a subsidiary of NatWest Group, said: “We’ve taken the difficult decision to withdraw offering services to clients who reside in the EEA unless an alternative to the passporting regime is swiftly agreed at a government level.”
Before and after the transition period
UK financial institutions can continue to provide services to clients in the EU and EEA during this year’s transition period on the same basis as before. From December 31, the UK will become a “third country” and, if no agreement is reached, the bank will lose access to such “passporting”.
The British Bankers Association (BBA) said: “These passports are the foundation of the EU single market for financial services.” Without an agreement, UK banks will face significant regulatory barriers to providing cross-border banking and investment services to EU-based clients.
This is most likely to affect those that provide extensive one-to-one financial help, such as private bank Coutts, whose clients are said to include the Queen. It could, however, potentially affect anyone living in the EU with a British bank account, having an impact on access to services such as banking advice, loans, bonds, foreign currency management, credit cards and mortgages.
It is expected that Britons living in the EU would still be able to keep ordinary accounts at most banks and use them for everyday purposes such as transfers of money between France and the UK. The fact that the UK is expected to remain in the EU’s Sepa zone should also facilitate this. 
Some EU rules won't apply to the UK anymore
An EU rule giving a right to open new “basic” accounts in other EU countries where you do not live may, however, no longer apply to the UK. A spokesperson for the trade association UK Finance said: “Customers whose bank is in the UK and who live elsewhere in Europe could face disruption to products such as overdrafts or mortgages in a ‘no deal’ scenario. The exact impact will depend on the product and rules in place in the country of residence. We encourage people to find out if action is needed.”
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/British-banks-may-stop-services-due-to-Brexit

colsten

It's got everything to do with Brexit. The passport arrangements of the banks will end on 31/12/2020, and by the looks of it, there won't now be any continuation arrangement. It appears that Lloyds have decided that there is no business case for them to continue to provide accounts to people who reside in the Netherlands. This is tough on you, I appreciate that. Send your complaint to Boris Johnson.

brianposter

It will be quite a !!!!!!-up if "they" end up prohibiting people from maintaining bank accounts in their home countries as Lloyds appear to be assuming.

colsten

brianposter said:

It will be quite a !!!!!!-up if "they" end up prohibiting people from maintaining bank accounts in their home countries as Lloyds appear to be assuming.

It's not "them" [banks] who are prohibiting people from maintaining accounts in their home countries.

It is the will of the people that these rights, amongst others, will be taken away from people.

Banks cannot legally operate without a licence, or a passporting arrangement, in any country. 

[Deleted User]

brianposter said:

It will be quite a !!!!!!-up if "they" end up prohibiting people from maintaining bank accounts in their home countries as Lloyds appear to be assuming.

There is no EU prohibition - Lloyds obviously doesn't want to offer them outside the UK for business reasons. Self inflicted Little Englander damage I'm afraid... 

GerardDaley

Thanks for all the information especially the Coutts passporting info ! 

The initial issue was Probably Brexit BUT then Lloyds are only penalizing UK residents in 2 EU countries, not fully 27 Member states thus not Brexit ! 

Just to inform and highlight ! 

Just Checking my buttons not sticking ! No it’s ok 
thx again for the posts 

jonesMUFCforever

Why don't you look at their offshore accounts - based in Jersey or Isle of Man?
It might be a solution for you.

born_again

GerardDaley said:

03 Sept 2020, received a generic letter from Lloyds bank UK stating closure of my UK account ! Citing BREXIT reasons !
I reside in The Netherlands due to work reasons, but I’ve had a Lloyds account for over 30 yrs! On complaint Lloyds informed me only two Member states of EU affected ;Netherlands and Slovakia, Lloyds said due to Brexit a bank licensing issue had  arisen with these two countries! Nothing to do with Brexit at all ! 

25 other EU Member states unaffected !
 As a UK citizen I’m discriminated against as I live in The Netherlands !
 I want to retain my UK bank account as I may return and all my family still live there ! For your information and maybe possibly other folk may be affected 
help if possible Stop Lloyds bank closing UK citizens accounts who live in the EU ! 

Any relation to this poster?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6184338/lloyds-closing-accounts/p1

Banks are free to remove customers if they want.
Many banks do not allow anyone not living in the UK to open any new accounts, even if they already hold some. So if you wanted a new savings or credit card it would be no.

jonesMUFCforever

born_again said:

GerardDaley said:

03 Sept 2020, received a generic letter from Lloyds bank UK stating closure of my UK account ! Citing BREXIT reasons !
I reside in The Netherlands due to work reasons, but I’ve had a Lloyds account for over 30 yrs! On complaint Lloyds informed me only two Member states of EU affected ;Netherlands and Slovakia, Lloyds said due to Brexit a bank licensing issue had  arisen with these two countries! Nothing to do with Brexit at all ! 

25 other EU Member states unaffected !
 As a UK citizen I’m discriminated against as I live in The Netherlands !
 I want to retain my UK bank account as I may return and all my family still live there ! For your information and maybe possibly other folk may be affected 
help if possible Stop Lloyds bank closing UK citizens accounts who live in the EU ! 

Any relation to this poster?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6184338/lloyds-closing-accounts/p1

Banks are free to remove customers if they want.
Many banks do not allow anyone living in the UK to open any new accounts, even if they already hold some. So if you wanted a new savings or credit card it would be no.

I think you have missed a word ''not'' between anyone and living.