The Czech National Bank hereby notifies clients and beneficiaries who have contracts with foreign financial institutions other than credit institutions and insurance companies providing products and services in the Czech Republic on the basis of authorisation granted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“the institutions concerned”) that in the event of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on the European Union without an agreement on the conditions of the withdrawal, the authorisation of the institutions concerned to carry on their business in the Czech Republic will end and their further activities will temporarily be governed by Act No. 74/2019 Coll., on Amending Certain Matters in Connection with the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union (“Lex Brexit”).
Lex Brexit allows the institutions concerned to carry on business to a limited extent in the Czech Republic during a transition period running from the date of withdrawal from the European Union until 31 December 2020. The institutions concerned will only be authorised to perform activities in the Czech Republic that are necessary to settle claims and debts arising from existing contracts (Article 24(1) of Lex Brexit). The institutions concerned may not conclude new contracts or amend the content of existing ones. Their further actions should be aimed at settling their obligations in the Czech Republic or obtaining authorisation to carry on business of financial institutions in compliance with the relevant sectoral legislation.
Any termination of the authorisation of the institutions concerned to carry on their business in the Czech Republic is without prejudice to the validity of existing contracts, and the obligations arising from them must be fulfilled by the contracting parties.
If you have a contract with an institution concerned or are a beneficiary of such a contract, the Czech National Bank expects the institution concerned to inform you of the legal consequences of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in respect of the rights and obligations arising from contracts and also of the actions that will be taken by the institutions concerned to settle claims and debts arising from these contracts.
The Czech National Bank will supervise compliance with duties by the institutions concerned in the Czech Republic during the aforementioned transition period.
Further partial specific rules are contained in Articles 14 and 15 of Lex Brexit relating to private pension insurance and supplementary pension savings and in Article 16 for making payments transactions using payment services in the United Kingdom.