In January 2020, the UK left the European Union (EU) and entered the ‘transition period’ which gave the UK and the EU time to negotiate their future relationship.
The transition period is now at an end and the UK is no longer part of the European Union (EU). Unfortunately, we now know that from 1 January 2021, some British banks and building societies will no longer be able to offer bank accounts to customers living in certain countries within the European Economic Area (EEA).
To date, the Netherlands and Italy have both confirmed that UK financial institutions like Coventry Building Society cannot continue to service their existing customers who live in those countries.
We’re still waiting for the majority of EEA countries to announce their intentions and we won’t know the exact details until the individual regulators have made their position clear. As we learn more, we’ll find out if we can still provide accounts to members living in the EEA.
As the new regulations are announced, we’ll keep this page updated and write to any of our members who will be affected by the changes. And if you have any concerns in the meantime, please get in touch.
The Dutch National Bank and Banca D’Italia have already published statements confirming that UK financial institutions won’t be able to provide current or savings accounts to customers living in the Netherlands or Italy from 1 January 2021.
We’ve written to members who live in the Netherlands and Italy asking them to transfer their money to another provider and close their accounts with us before the deadline.
For customers in the Netherlands, the deadline is 31 March 2021.
For customers in Italy, the deadline is 30 April 2021.
Unfortunately if your main residence is in the Netherlands or Italy, then from 1 January 2021 we won’t be able to provide you with your account any longer.
If you already hold an account with us, we've sent you a leaflet with all the information you need. If you haven’t received it or you can’t find it, contact us and we can send you another copy – or we can talk you through what you need to do.
Remember to:
It’s important that you write the address exactly like this, in capital letters and all on one line. You don’t need a stamp. Royal Mail delivers Freepost as second class mail.
If you live outside of the UK, we enclosed a pre-paid envelope in the letter we sent you.
When you write to us, make sure you include the account number and tell us what you’d like us to do with any money left in the account. Don’t forget to sign the letter.
So, if the address we hold for you in the Netherlands or Italy needs to be changed to a UK address, call us as soon as possible and we’ll do our best to help.