Howard Davies News

The report found Coutts failed to pay due regard to the interests of Farage and 'failed to treat him fairly', which 'might also amount to a regulatory breach, but is a matter for the relevant regulator to decide'.

NatWest chair Sir Howard Davies has vowed to stay in post as a furore over the bank's decision to cut ties with Nigel Farage continues to engulf the lender.

Natwest Group Chief Executive Dame Alison Rose has resigned over the Nigel Farage controversy. A political row erupted after Coutts Bank, which is part of NatWest Group, closed the account of the ex-leader of the United Kingdom Independent Party saying that his deposit came below the minimum threshold required. In a statement issued Wednesday, NatWest Group chairman Sir Howard Davies said that the board and Rose have agreed with mutual consent that she should step down. He also said that it is in the interest of customers and the bank that Dame Alison Rose continued as the chief executive. But Rose admitted committing a «serious error of judgment». Reacting to the resignation, Nigel Farage said that it had taken a long time for Dame Alison Rose to reign and anyone at a junior level would have been out of the door. He also said that the first rule of banking is client confidentiality and the bank has violated this. Dame Alison was under pressure from the Chancellor, other senior ministers, and the Prime Minister’s Office after the BBC reported that there were significant concerns over the conduct of the chief executive. The government owns 39% shares of the bank. The ex-leader of the United Kingdom Independent Party told in the first week of July that the bank has closed down his account without giving him the reason. The BBC reported that the bank had closed the account because Farage no longer met the financial threshold of the Coutts. Farage came out with a document showing his suitability to hold an account with the bank. The bank has said in its 40-page document that Farage was ‘xenophobic and racist’ and questioned the reputational risk of having him as a client.

NatWest, one of Britain’s biggest banks, says its chief executive has left her job after discussing personal details of a client — the populist politician Nigel Farage — with a journalist

According to an RNS statement, Alison Rose agreed with 'mutual consent' to step down as chief executive, with immediate effect.