Ford said it had won approval from the European Central Bank for its application to set up a bank in Germany as part of its strategy to mitigate any risk from Britain leaving the EU.

“The European Central Bank has approved Ford Credit Europe [FCE] Bank’s application for a banking licence in Germany. We expect to establish this bank in the second half 2018,” a spokesman said.

FCE sought a German banking licence, to run alongside its existing British one, last year because the future of passporting, which allows financial firms to serve the whole EU from a single base, is uncertain after Brexit.

FCE has said it would keep its headquarters in Britain and that the plan would not include job losses or significant changes to where employees are based.

FCE, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Ford, provides financial services to dealers, retail, fleet and business customers in Britain and 11 other countries in Europe.