At the beginning of January, the British Parliament voted against the provisional resignation agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union. This agreement was intended to regulate the conditions for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU. Over the next few weeks there will be an intense political debate in the United Kingdom on the way forward. 

If the UK Parliament does not approve an agreement before 29 March 2019, the UK will leave the European Union at that time without a transitional period. In the area of financial services and market infrastructures, the UK will be treated as a third country after an unregulated ("hard") Brexit.

From today's perspective, we do not expect any adverse effects or changes on our business model with securities or on the business of our customers. It goes without saying that we will follow developments closely and keep our customers informed.