- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Kyle Brasseur2023-10-27T17:17:00
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 (FCA).
On Friday, NatWest published the key findings and recommendations from the review by law firm Travers Smith it commissioned in July amid widespread criticism regarding its apparent decision to close Farage’s account over his political views. The issue was exacerbated by the actions of NatWest’s now-former Group Chief Executive Alison Rose, who told a BBC reporter Farage had his bank account canceled because he didn’t meet the necessary wealth criteria.
Farage uncovered and published evidence otherwise, and Rose resigned, along with the head of Coutts. The FCA expressed its concerns on the matter by launching a review into the treatment of U.K.-based politically exposed persons (PEPs) by financial institutions.
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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.
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.
The former CEO of NatWest’s decision to leak client details to the press regarding Nigel Farage is likely to cost the financial industry millions in new compliance checks as U.K. regulators prepare reviews into how banks treat people with extreme political views.
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