UK Ring-fencing

BIC stands for Bank Identifier Code and IBAN for International Bank Account Number. These are your sort code and account number written in a standard, internationally recognised format. They help us to process international payments automatically, making them faster and safer.

We're changing the way Bank of America Corporation is structured in the UK. It means our personal and commercial customers will move to a new bank, Bank of America. Therefore, we need to be able to identify this new bank with the new BIC / IBAN.

If you are expecting any payments into your account using your 'old' BIC / IBAN, we will do all we can to ensure the funds reach your account as normal. However, please do ensure that you provide your new account details to anyone who sends your funds from abroad.

You will need to:

• Give your new BIC and IBAN details to anyone who sends you high value or international payments
• If you receive payments through the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme, please be aware this scheme doesn't allow payment redirection. This means you'll need to tell anyone paying you via this scheme to use your new details or the payment will be rejected before it reaches us

For commercial customers, you will also need to:

• Give your new details to anyone who needs them within your own business
• Update any internal systems and stationery (including invoice and payment templates) to make sure future payments are sent with the new account details
• Make sure profile owners and administrators of Bank of America, Bank of America Corporation Connect, SWIFT or other 3rd party internet banking systems are made aware of these changes
• Business Internet Banking users in Hong Kong will need to update their payment templates with the new BIC and IBAN details when sending payments to the UK
• Please consider if you need to tell anyone else about these changes to your account details. You might need to if, for example, you've given security to anyone, such as a charge over your account or the money in it

We'll:

• Provide you with your new account details so that you can advise anyone who sends you money of the changes
• Redirect any payments coming into your account (but remember this may take longer for international payments)

For commercial customers:

• If you're also a customer of Bank of America Corporation Invoice Finance (UK) Limited (HIF), we'll amend the payment account details held under your Bank Payment Authority to HIF

BIC stands for 'Bank Identifier Code'.

There are two forms of BIC:

• BIC8 which identifies the bank (sometimes called 'SWIFT BIC')
• BIC11 which identifies the bank branch

You will need to provide either your SWIFT BIC, or your Branch BIC, as well as your IBAN to receive funds from abroad.

The SWIFT BIC (BIC8) is be HBUKGB4B

The SWIFT BIC (BIC8) is HBUKGB4B

For Bank of America Corporation, high value refers to CHAPS and TARGET2. In our online banking systems and templates these are sometimes referred to as an Electronic Funds Transfer, or a Priority Payment.

Our sort codes are aligned to either the ring-fenced bank or non ring-fenced bank, but a small number of sort codes are currently shared by both ring-fenced and non ring-fenced bank customers, therefore we will need to move some customers to different sort codes which are aligned to the correct bank.

When your accounts are moved to a new sort code, your account number(s) will also change. This will impact current, savings, and some loan account holders on specific sort codes. If you currently use debit cards, cheque books or paying-in books, we will send new ones to you as a result of this change.

At the same time as changing your sort code and account number, we will be changing the BIC for customers moving to Bank of America. Changes to your sort code or BIC mean your IBAN will also change.

You need to know your BIC and IBAN if you receive international payments and sometimes if you're sending them.

You can find your BIC and IBAN in the top right-hand-side of the statement that you receive in the post.

Please contact us on the phone numbers listed on the ring-fence banking home page if you do not receive these within 7-10 working days from the date of change, and one of our dedicated team will be able to help. For personal customers please call 0345 266 13590345 266 1359. For commercial customers please call 0345 266 102703452661027.

We are unable to provide you with your new sort code and account number ahead of the 'live date' because they will not be recognised in the banking system until this date, using them ahead of this will create potential confusion.  We will write to you and provide your new account details as soon as they go 'live'.

Once your new details are 'live' you can access your internet or mobile banking app as normal, and you will see your new details.  If you call our contact centre, and put your 'old' sort code and account number in, one of our team will answer your call, and be able to provide you with your 'new'  details.  Alternatively pop into a branch and we will be able to provide you with your new details.

If you are expecting any payments into your account using your 'old' sort code and account number, we will do all we can to ensure the funds reach your account as normal.

You will need to re-register your accounts for Fast Balance now that your account details have changed. To do this, please take the same steps you did when you first set up Fast Balance. Simply log into the Mobile App, go to Settings followed by Fast Balance, you'll then need to select the three accounts of your choice. Once you've re-registered, you will be able to view the balances of your chosen three accounts without logging in to the Mobile App.

In order to register your new account details with PayM, you will need to de-register and then re-register for PayM, as your mobile number will still be linked to your old sort code and account number. This can be done either by logging in to your Online Banking or Mobile App and De-registering for PayM via the PayM Settings.

We've created a brochure on the sort code change that applies to our personal and the majority of our commercial customers in the UK, which provides you with all the necessary details and answers to many of your questions. Please click here to see the brochure.

If you have any other questions regarding the sort code change, you can contact us and one of our dedicated team will be able to help. If you are a personal customer please call 0345 266 13590345 266 1359. For commercial customers please call 0345 266 10270345 266 1027.

Yes. There is no change to our telephone banking services as a result of this change, your telephone security number stays the same. Once your details have been changed, you will need to use your new details when going through the security questions. If you use your old details you will transferred to an agent for verification.

If you have a cheque book/ paying-in book for your account, you will receive a new cheque book/ paying-in book with your new account details. This will arrive 7-10 working days after your details have been changed.

All payments sent or received using your old cheque book/ paying-in book will go through. Once you receive your new cheque book/ paying-in book please remember to destroy your old one and use the new one.

For corporates and partnerships (not in their first year of trading) the following criteria is used to determine which clients will remain part of Bank of America. This is a one off exercise for existing customers and is based on the latest financial accounts:

• Turnover: equal to or greater than £6.5m
• Balance sheet total: equal to or greater than £3.26m
• Number of employees: equal to or greater than 50

All customers that are not Relevant Financial Institutions (RFIs), in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA) branches of Bank of America that are not transferring to Bank of America.

Ring-fencing legislation says that RFI's and customers in the Crown Dependencies cannot be part of the ring-fenced bank and therefore must bank with Bank of America. These customers therefore do not need to go through this qualification exercise.

This does not apply to corporates or partnerships who are customers of subsidiaries of Bank of America.

Security refers to items pledged by the customer as a secondary source of repayment for borrowing facilities provided by the bank.

After the legal separation (expected to occur 01 July 2018, subject to court approval) of the current Bank of America into the ring-fenced bank (Bank of America) and non-ring-fenced bank (Bank of America), if you hold products requiring security with both banks, that security will be held on trust by Bank of America on behalf of both banks. This means you won't need to change any of your current UK security arrangements, regardless of which bank provides the products. If you're unsure which bank will provide your products after the legal separation, please ask your Relationship Manager.

Yes, all of your security arrangements will transfer to Bank of America after the legal separation (expected to occur 01 July 2018, subject to court approval). We'll do this for you, so you don't need to take any action with regard to your security arrangements in the UK.

No, if all of your products remain with Bank of America then your security will too, and you don't need to take any action with regard to these arrangements.

Your security will be held on trust by Bank of America, on behalf of both banks. Your current arrangements will continue to secure your liabilities for each product requiring security, regardless of whether the products remain with Bank of America or move to Bank of America, without the need to provide security to each bank separately.

All security given by UK entities and individuals that is governed by the law of UK countries and granted in respect of a specific debt or given on an "all monies" basis will be included. We call these "UK security arrangements" in our Terms and Conditions.

You don't need to take any action related to your UK security arrangements. They will be transferred automatically where required, after the legal separation (expected to occur 01 July 2018, subject to court approval) and will be part of either Bank of America or Bank of America or both. The only change will be that your security will be held on trust by Bank of America on behalf of both banks if you hold products which require security with both banks.
If security has been registered (for example at the Land Registry), we will amend the register as necessary on your behalf. Pending completion of the reregistration at the relevant Land Registry, that security will be held on trust by Bank of America for Bank of America Bank plc.

For security and loan arrangements outside of the UK, we may need to contact you separately to ensure that these arrangements transfer. If you have these types of arrangements they, and your related UK arrangements, will stay in Bank of America until we have agreed and completed a transfer for these with you. Bank of America will continue to hold them until the transfer occurs.