NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose quits after Nigel Farage checking account leak

NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose has give up the banking large after admitting being the supply of an inaccurate BBC story about Nigel Farage’s funds.

Dame Alison had earlier admitted she made a “serious error of judgement” when discussing Farage’s relationship with non-public financial institution Coutts, which is owned by NatWest Group, with a BBC journalist. However, NatWest chairman Sir Howard Davies had stated she had the “full confidence” of the board.

But that apperars to have modified after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt expressed “serious concerns” over Dame Alison’s conduct. It got here after she met Hunt in addition to Downing Street officers.

Now, within the early hours of Wednesday, Sir Howard issued a press release saying the chief govt had left her place. He stated: “The Board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group.

“She has dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her.”

In a press release of her personal, Dame Alison thanked her colleagues “for all that they have done”, including: “I remain immensely proud of the progress the bank has made in supporting people, families and business across the UK, and building the foundations for sustainable growth.”

An emergency board meeting was called late on Tuesday night to determine her future, with the announcement of her resignation coming a few hours later.

Last week, Farage presented evidence, in the form of a 40-page dossier, that his account at Coutts had been closed partly due to his political views conflicting with the bank’s values.

The evidence obtained from the bank through a data request contradicted a BBC News story, which initially claimed that the account closure was motivated by commercial reasons only, citing Mr Farage’s failure to meet a £1 million borrowing requirement.

The BBC and its business editor Simon Jack apologised, saying the reporting had been based on information from a “trusted and senior source” however “turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate”.

In a press release, launched alongside Sir Howard on Tuesday night, Dame Alison stated: “I recognise that in my conversations with Simon Jack of the BBC, I made a serious error of judgment in discussing Mr Farage’s relationship with the bank.

“Believing it was public knowledge, I confirmed that Mr Farage was a Coutts customer and that he had been offered a NatWest bank account.

“Alongside this, 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.

“In response to a general question about eligibility criteria required to bank with Coutts and NatWest I said that guidance on both was publicly available on their websites. In doing so, I recognise that I left Mr Jack with the impression that the decision to close Mr Farage’s accounts was solely a commercial one.”

Sir Howard stated the “overall handling of the circumstances surrounding Mr Farage’s accounts has been unsatisfactory, with serious consequences for the bank”, earlier than promising an unbiased evaluate, which can be made public.

Sheldon Mills, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) govt director for shoppers and competitors, stated it had raised considerations about breaches of confidentiality by Coutts and its mother or father firm NatWest.

He additionally emphasised the significance of a “well-resourced” unbiased evaluate to research the matter “swiftly” and “fully”, including: “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.”

Speaking on his GB News present, Mr Farage accused Dame Alison of breaching the FCA’s conduct guidelines, including: “I think there has been complete failure in this regard.”

The ex-MEP turned broadcaster went on: “It is perfectly clear to me that Peter Flavel, the CEO of Coutts, has not done his job at all.

“It is perfectly clear to me that Alison Rose is unfit to be the CEO of a big group and that Howard Davies, who is supposed to be in charge of governance, has failed as well.

“Given that we have a 39% stake in this – we, the great British public – I think at that investor statement on Friday morning, the Government ought to say we have no confidence in this management. Frankly, I think they should all go and that is my conclusion from what we’ve learned this afternoon.”

The taxpayer’s stake within the firm has step by step decreased over time resulting from a number of share gross sales by the Government, with the newest bringing its possession all the way down to 38.6%.

A string of Tory MPs, together with former cupboard minister David Davis and Saqib Bhatti, the Conservative Party’s vice-chairman for enterprise, had additionally known as for Dame Alison’s resignation.

NatWest’s board of administrators introduced that Paul Thwaite, the present chief govt of the corporate’s Commercial and Institutional enterprise, will take over Dame Alison’s obligations for an preliminary interval of 12 months, pending regulatory approval.

The board stated in a press release {that a} additional course of to nominate a everlasting successor will happen “in due course”.

City minister Andrew Griffith will meet Britain’s largest banks on Wednesday morning to deal with considerations associated to prospects’ “lawful freedom of expression”.