Following the signature of the EU-U.K. Withdrawal Agreement on January 24, 2020, the European Central Bank has issued a statement expressing its regret that the U.K. is leaving the EU but stating its intention to ensure that Brexit causes the minimum disruption possible. In its statement, the ECB describes the preparations it has made for Brexit, which include:

• Agreeing a currency swap arrangement under which the Bank of England would lend euros to U.K. banks, and the Eurosystem would lend sterling to euro area banks if necessary;
• Processing licensing procedures for banks relocating to the euro area and assessing Brexit plans for banks planning to maintain U.K. branches post-Brexit;
• Executing a memorandum of understanding with U.K. regulators on the ongoing supervision of cross-border banking groups; and
• Reallocating the Bank of England’s share capital in the ECB among remaining national central banks.

View the Council's statement.

View the ECB's statement.

View details of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020. 

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