Interactive Brokers setting up in Ireland

[Eeyore]

Interactive Brokers are creating an Irish based broker Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited (IBIE) due to Brexit. This is part of an email I received yesterday.

Dear Client,

Interactive Brokers Group (“IBKR”) and its UK affiliate Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited (“IBUK”) have been planning for the end of the Brexit transition period, currently scheduled for 31st December 2020, and have been preparing alternative arrangements for our European customers. Our priority is to ensure a seamless transition and continuation in the provision of brokerage services to our customers with minimal disruption and minimal changes.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR
In 2018 IBKR established Interactive Brokers Luxembourg SARL (“IBLUX”) and undertook an authorisation process in Luxembourg. IBLUX was approved in November 2019, albeit with some important constraints on the permitted scale of the business.

In consideration of our fast-growing brokerage business, we expanded our European footprint and are in the process of creating an additional broker based in the European Union: Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited (“IBIE”). This licensing process for IBIE with the Central Bank of Ireland is well underway and we expect to enter its final stages shortly.

 

[Zebedee]

Good to know. Thanks.

I have not heard from Interactive Investor or IG yet. Has anyone else?

 

[1dave123]

Hi Zebedee. I completed the IDnow process at the end of June 2020 and the little prompt about brexit which had been a permanent fixture until then disappeared from my IG dashboard. I am assuming therefore that I have done my bit regarding the switch to IG Germany and now I just wait. My suspicion is that they will only activate the switch if there is a 'hard brexit' that compels them to do so.

I remember you completed the process late 2019 can I assume from your post above that you heard nothing at all after that .... and that you are still trading under IG UK.

 

[Zebedee]

Thanks. I thought that the IG move was for spreadbetting only rather than the share platform but I could be wrong.

 

[1dave123]

I only have a spreadbetting a/c. Did your IG spreadbetting a/c move to IG Germany?

 

[Lisboa]

About Interactive Brokers switching all their European resident clients out of the UK entity and into either the Ireland entity (Western European residents) or Hungary entity (Eastern European residents) or Luxembourg entity (Central European residents), I did read on another forum a lot of angry customers unhappy that the UK entity had up to £85,000 FCA protection of your assets, but the European entities only have up to €20,000 protection.