Barclays Bank has said it will close accounts held by expats which do not have £100,000 in them.
The action is likely to come in the next few months. Letters to some expats in Cyprus have already been sent informing them their accounts will be shut unless they contain £100,000.
“We understand that you may be disappointed by this and we will aim to offer you as much assistance as possible during this transition period.”
In July this year the Bank of England revised the deposit guarantee down to £75,000 to be roughly in line with EU fixed limit of €100,000.
A bank spokesman said more letters will be issued in due course to expats living in a country where Barclays no longer has a focus.
In 2013, Barclays decided it would concentrate on 70 “core” countries in the world. Customers in “non-core” nations may well find their accounts scheduled for closure. Reports are that some expats in France have also been informed that they are no longer wanted as customers.
Some Barclays branches in Portugal have already been closed while the business itself in Portugal is likely to be sold, as happened in Spain in January.
Barcelona-based CaixaBank completed its purchase at the beginning of the year, gaining 550,000 customers, 262 branches and some 2,400 staff. Barclays kept its investment bank and its Barclaycard business in Spain.
Barclays would not say how many expats are likely to be affected.
