Debanking: Number of account closures since 2016 skyrockets as banks take tough line on financial crime July 30, 2023 The number of bank accounts being closed climbed to nearly 350,000 last year as banks adopted an increasingly vigilant stance towards their customers. According to data from a freedom of information request submitted by the Daily Mail to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the number of accounts being closed has increased from under 50,000 in [...]
Natwest chair Howard Davies WILL stay on after Nigel Farage Coutts scandal July 28, 2023 Natwest chair Howard Davies said he would stay on as boss of the bank’s board while the lender tries to recover from the scandal involving Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank account. Speaking to reporters after the bank published its results, Davies said “my intention is to continue to lead the board and ensure that the bank [...]
Coutts boss Peter Flavel resigns over Farage account closure July 27, 2023 The boss of private bank Coutts has resigned for his part in the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account. Peter Flavel’s resignation follows the departure of Natwest boss Dame Alison Rose in the early hours of Wednesday morning and comes as pressure grows on other members of the Natwest board to step down over the [...]
Banks agree to protect freedom of expression after Farage furore July 26, 2023 Bank bosses today agreed to protect freedom of expression after they were hauled in for talks with City minister Andrew Griffith following the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account. In a meeting today with bank bosses in the Treasury, representatives from Natwest, HSBC, Nationwide, Lloyds, Santander and Barclays committed to not ‘debank’ customers because of [...]
Nigel Farage calls for entire Natwest board to go after Rose resignation July 26, 2023 Nigel Farage has called on the entire Natwest board to go after chief executive Dame Alison Rose resigned overnight after an extraordinary late-night board meeting – just hours after the bank’s chairman issued a statement offering her their full confidence. Rose outed herself as the source of a BBC story into the finances of Nigel [...]
Nigel Farage receives apology from BBC over Coutts account closure reporting July 24, 2023 The BBC has apologised to Nigel Farage for suggesting he lacked the funds needed to hold an account at Coutts after the private bank cut ties with the former Ukip leader. The BBC’s business editor Simon Jack made the apology after a story published by the corporation suggested Mr Farage had his account shut for [...]
Bank bosses to discuss account closures with Treasury – reports July 23, 2023 Bosses of the UK’s major banks and financial firms have been called in for a meeting with City minister Andrew Griffith over the closing of bank accounts. According to a report from the BBC, the Treasury has drafted a letter to banks saying the issue of “client de-banking” had raised “significant concern” in parliament. Griffith [...]
BBC: Nigel Farage Coutts bank account story has been ‘clarified and amended’ July 21, 2023 The BBC has amended a story about Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank account after coming under fire from the politician for suggesting he lacked the funds needed to hold an account. The former Ukip leader said he was lodging a formal complaint over the reporting. The BBC’s business editor, Simon Jack, wrote in a Tweet that [...]
Explainer: What’s going on with Farage’s bank account July 20, 2023 Coutts, a prestigious private bank owned by Natwest, is under pressure after it emerged that Nigel Farage’s bank account had been closed, ostensibly for his political opinions alone. The story has caused a furore and, with politicians wading in, it could even spark a set of new rules which would prevent banks ‘debanking’ customers with [...]
Farage: Government right to consider Natwest licence over Coutts brouhaha July 20, 2023 Nigel Farage has praised the Government following reports ministers are considering making new laws to stop banks closing customers’ accounts because they disagree with their political views. The former Ukip leader said MPs are “beginning to realise that this system is coming for them as well” after his bank accounts were closed by Coutts because his views [...]