Banks have denied changing procedures for British expats wanting to open accounts or obtain loans following Brexit.
Expats who spoke to this newspaper said they were asked for extra documentation or refused a loan because of the Brexit referendum result.
The referendum, which sparked a political meltdown, raised several questions about the impact of a Brexit on Maltese living in the UK and British expats in Malta.
In one case, a person who owns property here applied for a car loan and provided payslips and their ID card as requested before the referendum took place. A couple of days following the referendum result, he was told the loan was refused because of the Brexit result. In another case, a person who wanted to open an account to receive their salary was initially given the go ahead but was then told an ID or residency card was needed because of Brexit.
On a case-by-case basis, the bank could ask for additional documentation before establishing a new relationship
Expats who spoke to this newspaper said that, previously, they could open a bank account with just a passport.
The newspaper contacted three of the main banks, enquiring about any change in policies following the UK referendum.
Bank of Valletta plc said its policies and procedures – both for deposit accounts and financing – were not impacted by the Brexit vote and had remained unchanged.
Still, the procedure of opening accounts was governed by the bank’s customer acceptance policy and, on a case-by-case basis, the bank could ask for additional documentation before establishing a new relationship as part of its due diligence process, a spokesman said.
For Banif Bank Malta, lending is regulated by internal policies, which are applicable to all parties, irrespective of nationality. No changes in any lending criteria were made in the run-up to or after the Brexit referendum, a spokesman said.
Asked whether British clients needed to provide additional documentation, the spokesman said the criteria for foreigners applied to UK citizens, too. The result of the Brexit referendum was not one of the factors taken into consideration in the evaluation of credit requests, he pointed out.
A Briton asking to open an account to start depositing a salary would be asked for the same documentation as would any other foreign national.
An HSBC Bank Malta spokesman insisted that the bank had not changed its approach towards British residents following the result of the referendum, adding it was business as usual.