Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the preparedness of UK banks for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

The Treasury is in frequent contact with firms and regulators regarding their contingency planning for EU exit. Firms that are using the EU “passport” to serve clients in the EEA recognise that further steps to legal certainty remain, and are taking the sensible step of carrying out contingency planning with respect to their operations in the EEA in order to be ready for a scenario in which the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

The Government is also doing the necessary work to make sure that we continue to have a stable and functioning financial services regime at the point of leaving the EU in any scenario and to minimise disruption for UK households and businesses. As the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee set out in the Financial Stability Report in November 2018, the UK’s banking system is strong enough to continue to serve UK households and business even through a disorderly Brexit, in which there is no deal and no transition period.

That being said, we remain committed to preserving our competitive position in financial services after the UK has left the EU. An implementation period is the most effective means of ensuring a smooth and orderly exit from the EU. That is why leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority.