Queen’s Banker Halts New EU Mortgages as Hard Brexit Looms
- U.K. decided not to extend talks last month despite virus
- Bank set to lose passporting rights at the end of this year
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Coutts & Co., the private U.K. bank that counts Queen Elizabeth II among its clients, has warned customers within the European Economic Area that it can no longer offer them mortgages due to Brexit.
The lender, owned by Natwest Group Plc, will lose so-called passporting rights that allow it to operate freely within the EEA if the current Brexit transition period expires on Dec. 31 with no formal agreement between the European Union and the U.K., according to an email to clients seen by Bloomberg. As the U.K. last month ignored a deadline to extend the transition period, the bank has stopped accepting lending applications from the EEA, it said.