NatWest chief apologises to Nigel Farage over bank account closure

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NatWest chief executive Alison Rose apologised to Nigel Farage for dropping him as a client of its private bank Coutts as the UK government accelerated plans to clamp down on banks unfairly closing accounts.

Farage, former leader of the UK Independence party and Brexit party, released documents this week that showed Coutts decided to shutter his account not only for commercial reasons, but also because his political views were “at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation”.

On Thursday afternoon, Rose wrote to Farage to apologise for the decisions and pledged to personally oversee a full review of Coutts’s processes.

“I am writing to apologise for the deeply inappropriate comments about yourself” made in bank’s wealth committee, she said. “Your experience, highlighted in recent days, has shown we need to also put our own processes under scrutiny too.”

“I believe very strongly that freedom of expression and access to banking are fundamental to our society,” she added. “I fully understand yours and the public’s concern that the processes for bank account closure are not sufficiently transparent.”

Rose had come under intense pressure from MPs to explain why she allowed the elite private bank to remove Farage as a customer, a scandal that also threatens to inundate the taxpayer-backed bank with complaints from others similarly cut off.

Her apology came as the government accelerated plans to clamp down on banks over unfair account closures. The Treasury said on Thursday banks must “explain and delay” any decision to close a bank account, under new rules designed to protect freedom of expression.

The new rules require at least a 90-day period for a customer to appeal and detail a rationale for the action.