First Direct and Natwest closing bank accounts for political reasons inc being gender critical

Sorry if this has been covered earlier in the thread, but this was just published today.

I suspect other organisations with internal messaging systems are not different, but in view of banks thinking they can close bank accounts because (some of) those working their dont like the politics of a customer, this is more than a concern.

Once again, we are witnessing private corporations claiming to practice ‘inclusion’ through the medium of ‘exclusion’. This is not only illogical and hypocritical. It is dangerous.

https://www.jamesesses.com/p/exclusive-evidence-reveals-big-bank

It is odd. It is a point that some of the Labour front bench don't seem to have grasped either.

The detail does not matter. Whether she was presenting a correct picture or spinning.

Pure and simple. She breached confidentiality and acted unprofessionally. That was unsurvivable. Something the Chair did not understand, but a fact that the major shareholder, ie the Government, did.

I agree, @Needmoresleep but the reason Simon Jack, the BBC journalist, apologised to Farage himself is that it was a misrepresentation.

Two things I've noticed about the BBC coverage. The first is that on the day the scandal properly broke, Farage's reveal of the SAR, the BBC coverage changed radically over the course of a day from minimisation to, at bedtime, "this might be rather serious". The second is that different parts of BBC News are handling this differently from relatively straightforward reporting to heavily spun.

She had to resign because she talked about a client’s account to a journalist.

There may be other reasons, but breaching client confidentiality is inexcusable.

It is rather lacking in detail. Rather astoundingly so.

No mention of who "the source familiar with the matter" was, and that she had to resign over it because of the claim by the BBC, from her own leak, that it was because he didn't have enough money!

The BBC still struggling to relay the facts, as opposed to what they want the facts to be.

The BBC reported that it was closed because he no longer met the wealth threshold for Coutts, citing a source familiar with the matter.
However, Mr Farage later obtained a report from the Bank which indicated his political views were also considered.

Head of Coutts has now also resigned

Coutts Bank boss quits over Farage account row www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66328666

@CaveMum I hope they get somewhere.

Very shocking @CaveMum

This really has opened a can of worms hasn't it?

Hopefully the scandal will mean changes for the better but it probably won't happen in a hurry.

@Hepwo

*Yes, bank's have non executive risk committees as part of the board structure.

I doubt very much they had risk of "tanking the share price as a result of the CEOs prejudice on the risk register.

We call them all Neddies for a reason.*

@EdithStourton MP Philip Davies, who is part of the Parliamentary group for horse racing is on the case and the bookmakers association have meetings with the Treasury Minister Andrew Griffiths lined up.

Funnily enough, the bank that shut down all the accounts for the bookmaker I mentioned above was NatWest. Definitely something fishy going on there.

@CaveMum that is shocking. Is anyone trying to find out the justification?

There are a lot of people that have been targeted with banking closures. There’s a report in the Racing Post (I work in horse racing) today to say that a number of on-course bookmakers have had their accounts closed with no explanation in recent months.

Now whether you agree with gambling or not is neither here nor there, these are legitimate businesses who have to comply with strict money laundering legislation in order to be able to operate. One bookmaker not only had his own personal and business accounts closed, but also accounts for charities and organisations where he was a signatory.

https://www.racingpost.com/news/britain/banks-closure-of-racecourse-bookmaker-accounts-described-as-a-scandal-aBBRQ8g1ArP4/

https://www.natwestgroup.com/who-we-are/board-and-governance/board-and-committees/board-risk-committee.html

The Nodding Neddies.

Yes, bank's have non executive risk committees as part of the board structure.

I doubt very much they had risk of "tanking the share price as a result of the CEOs prejudice on the risk register.

We call them all Neddies for a reason.

putting a rainbow behind your logo on linked in and trying to pressure your employees into putting pronouns in their email signatures is a lot easier and cheaper though innit?

Completely agree but I doubt it's something the banking industry welcomes!

Its good. It was a scandal that needed to happen. Banks pay very little attention to their more vulnerable customers, including those with no access to the internet, or who have a Power of Attorney. Presumably because they can't make much money from them.

Access to banking is now almost a necessity. Real thought needs to be given to how banks operate in regards to their wider customer base. Inclusivity is NOT rainbows during pride month. It is about access for everyone.

Let us all thank Farage....

I mean in "debanking" an ex politician with a strong media platform in the first place. Now it's opened up a huge banking scandal.

What on earth did Coutts think they were doing. They even knew that Farage going public was a significant risk.

The new story is shocking.

Banks should have rules like utility companies which prevent them from cutting off services to the elderly/vulnerable, and an obligation to provide help when needed.

Chairman Sir Howard Davies has previous form:

The London School of Economics accepted a £1.5m ($2.4m) donation from the family of Muammer Gaddafi that may have been raised from bribes paid to the dictator’s family by companies seeking “business favours” from the regime, an independent report into the college’s links to Libya has revealed. The report, written by Lord Woolf, former chief justice, was commissioned by the LSE in the wake of Sir Howard Davies’ resignation from his post as LSE director in March over the controversy. Sir Howard was personally responsible for some of the failures that led to the scandal, the inquiry found.