Embattled NatWest chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, has apologised to Nigel Farage for “deeply inappropriate comments” but has declined to reopen his Coutts bank account.
The private bank, part of the NatWest Group, has been under pressure amid allegations that Farage’s political views were the reason his account had been “exited”.
Rose insisted that it was not the bank’s policy to exit customers on the basis of legally held political and personal views but reiterated an offer to the former UKIP leader of alternate banking arrangements at NatWest rather than reopening his Coutts account.
The bank would carry out a review of its processes, Rose said.
The apology follows revelations that internal Coutts documents criticised Farage’s political views. Farage called the remarks “prejudiced and nasty”.
Dame Alison’s apology in full
Dear Mr Farage,
I am writing to apologise for the deeply inappropriate comments about yourself made in the now published papers prepared for the Wealth Committee. I would like to make it clear that they do not reflect the view of the bank.
I believe very strongly that freedom of expression and access to banking are fundamental to our society and it is absolutely not our policy to exit a customer on the basis of legally held political and personal views. To this end, I would also like to personally reiterate our offer to you of alternative banking arrangements at NatWest.
I fully understand yours and the public’s concern that the processes for bank account closure are not sufficiently transparent. 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.
To achieve this, sector wide change is required, but your experience, highlighted in recent days, has shown we also need to put our own processes under scrutiny too. As a result I am commissioning a full review of the Coutts processes for how these decisions are made and communicated, to ensure we provide better, clearer and more consistent experience for customers in the future.
The review will be reporting to me as NatWest Group CEO.
I welcome the FCA’s reviews of regulatory rules associated with Politically Exposed Persons, and we will implement the recommendations of our review alongside any changes that they or the Government makes to the overall regulatory framework.
Yours sincerely,
Alison Rose.
