NatWest’s beleaguered chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, has admitted she was the source of a controversial BBC report about Nigel Farage’s bank accounts and issued a grovelling apology in an attempt to save her job.
Rose said she made a “serious error of judgment” in discussing Farage’s banking relationship with Coutts, the private banking division of NatWest, in a conversation with a BBC reporter this month.
The banking group’s chairman, Sir Howard Davies, said Rose could see her pay docked as a result of the controversy, which erupted after Coutts shut the ex-Ukip leader’s accounts this year.
The statement came as the City watchdog warned it could take “further action” against NatWest and Coutts if an independent review by the lender, or investigations by other authorities including the information commissioner, reveal wrongdoing.
Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt have “significant concerns” over Rose’s role, according to multiple reports on Tuesday night, with other members of cabinet reportedly expressing similar concerns. The fact the bank is partly owned by the taxpayer has exacerbated the situation.
NatWest has been thrust into a storm over Coutts’s rationale for closing Farage’s accounts. The former MEP obtained and released internal documents from the bank last week that showed Coutts believed his alleged “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views” did not align with its values. Those documents also showed that Farage had been “below commercial criteria for some time” – referring to the criteria for having multimillion-pound savings or investments that Coutts uses to choose customers.
Despite the apology, Farage said Rose “broke client confidentiality, and is unfit to be CEO of NatWest”.
Davies said earlier in the day the board was giving its full backing to its 53-year-old chief executive, who has spent her career at the lender.
“The board has noted Alison Rose’s statement on the circumstances of her conversation with [BBC journalist] Simon Jack and her further apology to Mr Farage,” Davies said.
“The board has noted Alison Rose’s statement on the circumstances of her conversation with [BBC journalist] Simon Jack and her further apology to Mr Farage,” Davies said in a statement.
“As she recognises, she should not have spoken in the way she did. This was a regrettable error of judgment on her part. The events will be taken into account in decisions on remuneration at the appropriate time. However, after careful reflection the board has concluded that it retains full confidence in Ms Rose as CEO of the bank,” he added.
However, Sky News reported last on Tuesday night that the board was meeting to discuss her future.
Rose said in her own statement on Tuesday that she made a “serious error of judgment” during a conversation with Jack, the BBC News business editor, in which she confirmed that the bank had taken a “commercial decision” in shutting Farage’s Coutts account and offering him a NatWest account.
It was subsequently reported by the BBC that Farage had been expelled from the bank because its customers are required to hold £3m in savings or borrow or invest £1m.
Rose said that in speaking to the reporter: “I repeated what Mr Farage had already stated, that the bank saw this as a commercial decision. I would like to emphasise that in responding to Mr Jack’s questions I did not reveal any personal financial information about Mr Farage.”
She added: “Put simply, I was wrong to respond to any question raised by the BBC about this case. I want to extend my sincere apologies to Mr Farage for the personal hurt this has caused him and I have written to him today.”
Rose became the bank’s first female chief executive in late 2019, when it was known as Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The bank, which was bailed out by taxpayers during the 2008 financial crisis, is still 38.6% owned by the UK government.
Davies said the board considered the overall handling of Farage’s accounts had been “unsatisfactory” and led to “serious consequences for the bank”. He confirmed that the board would launch an independent review that would look into the closure and lessons that could be learned from the controversy.
Last week Rose apologised to Farage for comments included in the report, while the government put forward new rules meant to protect free speech and increase the transparency of bank account closures. The City minister is to hold a meeting with the 19 largest UK banks over the matter on Tuesday.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it welcomed NatWest’s independent review, which it had pressed for when it contacted the group in the wake of Farage’s allegations. “It is vital that the review is well resourced and those conducting it have access to all the necessary information and people in order to investigate what happened swiftly and fully,” the FCA’s consumer and competitions director, Sheldon Mills, said.
“On the basis of the review and any steps taken by other authorities, such as the Financial Ombudsman Service or information commissioner, on relevant complaints, we will decide if any further action is necessary,” Mills added.
Farage said: “Alison Rose has now admitted that she is the source. She broke client confidentiality, and is unfit to be CEO of NatWest Group. Meanwhile, Coutts’ CEO, Peter Flavel, must take the ultimate responsibility for debanking me based on my political views. Sir Howard Davies is responsible for overall governance. He has clearly failed in this task, least of all by endorsing their conduct. In my view they should all go.”
