NatWest CEO apologises to Nigel Farage for ‘deeply inappropriate comments’ over Coutts banking ban
Coutts owner NatWest has apologised to Nigel Farage after documents obtained by the former Ukip leader appeared to show the private bank closed his account over his political views.
In a statement on Thursday evening, Natwest chief executive Alison Rose apologised for the âdeeply inappropriate commentsâ.
âI would like to make clear that they do not reflect the view of the bank,â she said. âI believe very strongly that freedom of expression and access to banking are fundamental to our society and it is absolutely not our policy to exit a customer on the basis of legally held political and personal viewsâ.
Ms Rose reiterated her offer to set up âalternative banking arrangementsâ for Mr Farage through Natwest, and announced the company would undertake a âfull review of the Coutts processes for how these decisions are made and communicatedâ.
She called for âsector-wide changeâ to increase banking transparency, but admitted Mr Farageâs experience âhas shown we need to also put our own processes under scrutiny tooâ.
It comes after Mr Farage claimed on Wednesday that he had obtained documents which appeared to show that Coutts closed down his account because his views âdo not align with our valuesâ.
A dossier obtained by the former Ukip leader through a subject access request suggested Coutts officials chose to shutter his account because his political views were not âas inclusiveâ as the bankâs.
The document appeared to suggest that Mr Farageâs friendships with Donald Trump and tennis star Novak Djokovic, and his views on LGBT rights, proved he was not âcompatible with Couttsâ.
Mr Farage has accused the bank of âlyingâ about the real reason he was cut off last month, claiming that the dossier proved the decision was politically driven.
Earlier this month, the BBC and the Financial Times reported that the politicianâs accounts were closed because they fell below the financial threshold required by the bank.
Coutts requires its customers to borrow or invest at least ÂŁ1m or save at least ÂŁ3m, according to an eligibility questionnaire on its website.
But Mr Farage said the files showed the decision was in fact fuelled by a âStasi-style surveillance reportâ on him, noting that the word Brexit appeared in the document 86 times.
The Treasury unveiled a raft of new rules for banks on Thursday to protect customersâ âfreedom of expressionâ in the wake of the saga.
Banks will now be required to give customers 90 daysâ notice before closing their account, offering them more time to challenge a decision through the Financial Ombudsman Service or find a replacement bank.
Lenders will also be required to provide a full explanation of their reasons for axing a customerâs account, in a move that the Treasury hopes will âboost transparencyâ.
The new rules will require secondary legislation, which officials said would be delivered through the fresh powers granted by Brexit.
The Government said it had been forced to step in âto address fears that banks are terminating accounts because they disagree with someoneâs political beliefsâ.
Announcing new measures on Thursday, Andrew Griffith, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said freedom of speech âmust be respected by all institutionsâ.
âBanks occupy a privileged place in society, and it is right that we fairly balance the rights of banks to act in their commercial interest, with the right for everyone to express themselves freely,â he said.
âThese changes will boost the rights of customers â providing real transparency, time to appeal and making it a much fairer playing field.â
It came after Rishi Sunak added his name to a growing list of critics condemning the revelations on Wednesday, with the Prime Minister describing Couttsâ actions as âwrongâ.
âNo one should be barred from using basic services for their political views,â he wrote on Twitter. âFree speech is the cornerstone of our democracy.â