NatWest Group’s decision to shut down Nigel Farage’s Coutts account showed “serious failings” in its treatment of the politician, an independent investigation has found.
But the move to shut the ex-Ukip leader’s bank account was lawful and predominately a commercial decison, the probe concluded.
Law firm Travers Smith – asked to review the banking giant in the wake of the Farage debanking saga – found failures in how it treated confidential information.
“Coutts considered its relationship with Mr Farage to be commercially unviable because it was significantly loss-making,” it said.
Mr Farage claims his account was shut because his political beliefs. The Brexit campaigner has called for NatWest to cut the severance pay of former boss Dame Alison Rose – accusing her of overseeing a “woke” culture at the bank.
Dame Alison resigned earlier this year after admitting a “serious error of judgment” by discussing with a BBC journalist Mr Farage’s relationship with Coutts, which is owned by NatWest Group.
The Travers Smith report is the first stage of the probe which was commissioned by the NatWest board in July.
Responding to the findings, NatWest’s chairman Sir Howard Davies said: “This report sets out a number of serious failings in the treatment of Mr Farage.
“Although Travers Smith confirm the lawful basis for the exit decision, the findings set out clear shortcomings in how it was reached as well as failures in how we communicated with him and in relation to client confidentiality.”
The NatWest boss added: “We apologise once again to Mr Farage for how he has been treated. His experience fell short of the standards that any customer should expect.”
The City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the latest report “has highlighted potential regulatory breaches and a number of areas for improvement”.
Dame Alison’s spokesman has been contacted for comment.