By Neil Hodge2023-09-12T15:00:00
A banking boss’s decision to leak client details to a journalist is likely to cost the industry millions in new compliance checks as U.K. regulators prepare reviews into how banks treat people with extreme political views and whether they are subject to excessive and illegal monitoring.
NatWest’s now-former Group Chief Executive Alison Rose broke the most basic rule on confidentiality and told a BBC reporter that Nigel Farage—the U.K.’s face of Brexit and anti-immigration—had his bank account canceled because he didn’t meet the necessary wealth criteria.
Farage was a customer with Coutts bank, a financial institution that advises account holders be able to borrow at least 1 million pounds (U.S. $1.3 million) or hold £3 million in savings (U.S. $3.8 million) with it. Coutts is part of the NatWest Group.
2023-11-16T15:54:00Z By Neil Hodge
Just because Alison Rose received a public apology from the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office regarding the suggestion she might have violated the General Data Protection Regulation doesn’t mean NatWest could avoid sanction.
2023-10-27T17:17:00Z By Kyle Brasseur
An independent review into how NatWest handled the closure of politician Nigel Farage’s Coutts account uncovered potential regulatory breaches by the bank that are on the radar of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.
2023-09-21T19:05:00Z By Neil Hodge
The furor over NatWest Group’s decision to monitor and close the account of right-wing Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage—and then disclose the details to a journalist—has raised questions regarding whether other banks employ the same means to get rid of undesirable customers.
2025-09-09T16:37:00Z By Aly McDevitt
The Epstein case remains a defining moment for financial institutions. As new investigations bring renewed attention to his enablers, Compliance Week’s 2024 case study offers not only a timeline of failures but a path forward. Here’s what banks, regulators, and compliance teams must learn from it.
2025-09-03T11:37:00Z By Tom Fox
At their core, compliance officers are problem-solvers. They wrestle with thorny questions every day: How do we implement a global gifts-and-entertainment policy across jurisdictions with vastly different cultural norms? How do we balance business pressures with anti-corruption obligations? How do we address new risks like AI itself?
2025-09-02T14:19:00Z By Hemanth Kumar, Guest Contributor
Financial ecosystems are no longer confined within national boundaries. Money, technology, and risks flow seamlessly across jurisdictions, creating unprecedented challenges for compliance officers. From sanctions and anti-money laundering (AML) obligations to the rise of virtual assets, the compliance function must now navigate a complex, cross-border landscape where regulators, institutions, and ...
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