NatWest chief apologises to Farage and guarantees account closure evaluation

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NatWest chief apologises to Farage and guarantees account closure evaluation

The chief government of NatWest Group has apologised to Nigel Farage for the closure of his financial institution accounts and ordered an instantaneous evaluation of the processes adopted by its Coutts subsidiary.

In a letter to Mr Farage seen by Sky News, Dame Alison Rose mentioned she regretted “deeply inappropriate comments” in regards to the former UKIP chief in internal bank documents.

The financial institution chief, whose employer is backed by UK taxpayers, mentioned it had supplied Mr Farage “alternative banking arrangements”.

“I fully understand yours and the public’s concerns that the processes for bank account closures are not sufficiently transparent,” she wrote.

“Customers have a right to expect their bank to make consistent decisions against publicly available criteria and those decisions should be communicated clearly and openly with them, within the constraints imposed by the law.”

NatWest’s climbdown is prone to be seen as a humiliating episode for Dame Alison, whose firm had beforehand sought to close down the row with Mr Farage by saying it was restricted by consumer confidentiality guidelines.

Her letter was timed to coincide with the publication of reforms by the Treasury, confirming a report earlier this week by Sky News.

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Wednesday: Coutts responds to Farage claims

The new guidelines will power banks to provide prospects 90 days’ discover of account closures and to offer an specific clarification of the explanations for the choice.

Rose mentioned a evaluation of Coutts’ processes would report back to her, including: “I believe very strongly that freedom of expression and access to banking are fundamental to our society.”

Mr Farage had develop into embroiled in a public combat with the financial institution about whether or not his accounts had been closed for industrial causes – as NatWest had appeared to temporary unofficially – or whether or not it was due to his political opinions.

Content Source: news.sky.com

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