On Wednesday, it was revealed that Nigel Farage’s account had been canceled at a U.K. bank because of his political convictions, prompting the resignation of the bank’s chief executive, Alison Rose.
After interacting with a journalist concerning Farage’s private details, NatWest CEO Rose resigned from her post. According to NatWest, the parent company of Coutts, Rose voluntarily left.
Her resignation comes as no surprise because Farage has previously complained that his bank account had been closed by Coutts because the banking firm disagreed with his political beliefs. Farage said that his account closure with Coutts was unfair. The left claimed Farage was delusional and fostering conspiracy theories.
The bank has been around for almost 300 years and counts members of the British royal family among its exclusive clientele. Nearly 40% of NatWest is still owned by British taxpayers after they bailed it out during the 2008 financial crisis.
The media reported that an unnamed bank source confirmed that Farage’s account was canceled because his income was below Coutts’ minimum requirement.
On Twitter, Farage said he had referred to a 40-page report in which bank personnel discussed his financial difficulties and the possible damage to the bank’s image that might result from keeping him as a client. The records said many people saw Farage as xenophobic, racist, and dishonest.
Later, Rose apologized to Farage and revealed that she was the anonymous source for the false BBC claim that the deletion of Farage’s account was motivated only by financial concerns. She described the action as a significant blunder.
After the controversy broke, the British government enacted stricter controls for bank account closures in the United Kingdom. The new regulations mandate that the United Kingdom offer a reason and 90 days’ notice before closing an account.
Farage said to fix a system that has harmed many innocent people unfairly; we need to make certain adjustments to our culture and the law.
Farage then discussed his intention to assemble all the de-banked individuals and
compile an extensive database of instances to pinpoint the financial institutions that have committed the most crimes.
