Watchdog considers 'interim' permission for EU banks in UK

[September 29, 2017]  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's regulators could give interim permission for European Union banks to continue operating in the UK after the country leaves the bloc in 2019, a top regulator said on Friday.

Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority said giving "interim permission" may be one solution for dealing initially with a wave of lenders from the EU who need to continue offering services in Britain after March 2019.

The Bank of England told Reuters this week it expects up to 130 license applications from such "inbound" banks, a huge administrative task with just 18 months to go before Brexit.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith)

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