Banking foyer UK Finance says accounts shouldn't be shut for political causes

The UK banking foyer group has mentioned nobody ought to ever have a checking account shut for political causes.

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But UK Finance chairman Bob Wigley informed Sky News' Ian King he didn't imagine accounts had been being closed on political grounds.

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He mentioned: "Our members would say, all of them, no one should ever have a bank account shut because they express a legally held opinion but I don't believe that is what is happening," Bob Wigley mentioned.

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Instead, he added, closures may have been for different causes.

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"I'm not commenting on any particular individual here, I hasten to add, it may be because of suspicious activity in the account because as you know we're regulated and have to look at it," Mr Wigley mentioned.

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"It may be because of abusive behaviour in branches, it could be a whole host of reasons but it will never be because someone expresses a political opinion if it's legally held".

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It comes because the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been requested to hurry up its examination of banks' therapy of so-called "politically exposed persons" (PEPs), individuals who have held a high-profile public function, comparable to political workplace.

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City minister Andrew Griffith wrote to the regulator on Tuesday making the request, including that, "some financial institutions may be failing to strike the right balance of taking a proportionate approach based on a careful evaluation of the actual risk".

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The FCA's govt director for competitors, Sheldon Mills, mentioned of the difficulty at present: "This is a democratic society. Your political beliefs are your individual. Where one wants to consider when it comes to any service provision is how that engagement is between the shopper and establishment.

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"And banks also have colleagues who they need to, who they employ and who they protect."

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PEPs require elevated oversight by monetary establishments as they're at better threat of being bribed because of the nature of their work.

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Former member of the European Parliament and chief of Ukip, Nigel Farage, this week mentioned his account had been closed as a result of he was a PEP.

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Read extraNigel Farage's bank accounts: What's it all about, and what's the Coutts threshold?

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It was reported the account was with Coutts wealth administration, and that it was closed as a result of he didn't meet their wealth threshold, which requires prospects to borrow or make investments not less than Β£1m or deposit Β£3m in financial savings on the financial institution.

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Correspondence seen by Sky News exhibits Metro Bank wouldn't open an account for an anti-transgender group.

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"Our policy doesn't currently allow organisations to receive donations if not a registered charity, and for community groups to be linked to, or influence political policies or legislations," the financial institution rejection letter mentioned.

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When approached for remark Metro Bank mentioned, "We cannot comment on individual accounts."

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"Any decision not to open an account will be based on a variety of reasons such as, commercial, legal and regulatory factors (including money laundering), and is not based on the personal or political beliefs of the individual or organisation."

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