Peter Flavel said the handling of Mr Farage’s case had “fallen below the bank’s high standards”
By Michael Race
Business reporter, BBC News
The boss of Coutts, the prestigious private bank for the wealthy, has stepped down over the handling of Nigel Farage’s bank account closure.
NatWest – which owns Coutts – said Peter Flavel’s resignation had been mutually agreed and would be immediate.
Mr Flavel said how the bank handled Mr Farage’s account had “fallen below” its “high standards of personal service”.
Mr Farage said “ultimate responsibility for the dossier de-banking me for my political views” lay with Mr Flavel.
The departure of the Coutts boss comes after Dame Alison Rose, the boss of NatWest Group, resigned over the row on Wednesday.
NatWest, which is 39% owned by the taxpayer, has been under fire after Dame Alison admitted she had made a mistake in speaking about Mr Farage’s relationship with Coutts.
On Thursday, Mr Flavel said it was “right that I bear ultimate responsibility for this, which is why I am stepping down”.
Paul Thwaite, Dame Alison’s interim replacement at the top of NatWest, said Mr Flavel’s departure was “the right decision for Coutts and the wider group”.
Mohammad Kamal Syed is set to take over as the boss of Coutts on an interim basis.
In early July, Mr Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party and a prominent Brexiteer, said that his account at private bank Coutts had been closed and that he had not been given a reason.
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.
The 40-page document flagged concerns that he was “xenophobic and racist”, and also questioned the reputational risk of having Mr Farage as a client. It said that to have Mr Farage as a customer was not consistent with Coutts’ “position as an inclusive organisation” given his “publicly stated views”.
The former UKIP leader said it was “only a matter of time before Peter Flavel, Coutts CEO, stood down”.
“I even wrote to Mr Flavel twice before going public and didn’t receive an acknowledgment,” he added.
Mr Farage also posted on social media screenshots of emails he said he sent to Mr Flavel, one of which stated he had planned to show up at Coutts with a “security van to collect [redacted] approx in cash”.
Labour’s Ed Miliband told the BBC Newscast podcast that the row was a “bad episode” for NatWest and Coutts but added we need to “move on”.
The shadow climate change and net zero secretary said it was “right” for NatWest boss Dame Alison to resign, but added: “When people try and then sort of make it into a sort of grand conspiracy against lots of people, I sort of slightly part company with it.”
He continued: “I think it was bad, it shouldn’t have happened but let’s not blow it up into sort of the biggest thing ever.”
The fallout from Mr Farage having his bank account closed has raised questions over whether banks can terminate accounts due to a person’s political views.
The law states that every person in the UK has a legal right to hold a basic bank account, and that banks “must not discriminate against consumers” for a list of reasons such as sex, race, religion and also political beliefs.
The government met bank bosses on Wednesday who agreed to reforms on the closure of customer accounts.
How the Farage bank row unfolded:
- 29 June: Mr Farage says on Twitter his bank accounts would be closed for commercial reasons. He does not name the bank. but says he has been a customer since 1980
- 4 July: BBC reports Mr Farage fell below the threshold needed to hold an account with Coutts. Mr Farage confirms the bank is Coutts but says the closure was a “political decision”
- 18 July: Mr Farage obtains a Coutts report which said he did not align with the bank’s values.
- 19 July: The Telegraph reports Dame Alison sat next to business editor Simon Jack at charity dinner the day before the BBC’s report
- 20 July: Dame Alison apologies for “deeply inappropriate comments” and says the document does “not reflect the view of the bank”
- 21 July: The BBC updates its story to make clear its report had come from a source
- 24 July: Simon Jack and Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News, apologise to Mr Farage
- 25 July: NatWest says Dame Alison made a “serious error” but the board had full confidence in her
- 26 July: Dame Alison resigns. Mr Farage calls on the whole NatWest board to go
- 27 July: Coutts boss Peter Flavel steps down
