{"id":13967,"date":"2023-09-20T00:54:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T00:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prosfunds.com\/news\/u-k-regulator-dismisses-claims-of-politically-motivated-bank-account-closures-brexiter-farage-cries-foul\/"},"modified":"2023-09-20T00:54:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T00:54:19","slug":"u-k-regulator-dismisses-claims-of-politically-motivated-bank-account-closures-brexiter-farage-cries-foul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prosfunds.com\/?p=13967","title":{"rendered":"U.K. regulator dismisses claims of politically-motivated bank account closures \u2014 Brexiter Farage cries foul"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The U.K.\u2019s premier financial regulator said it found no evidence that banks closed customers accounts solely because of their political views, but admitted its investigation had gaps given its speed.<\/p>\n

The Financial Conduct Authority began its report in August after claims by Nigel Farage, the former UK Independence Party leader, that he lost his account at private bank Coutts because the division of NatWest
\n NWG,
\n +0.04%<\/bg-quote>
\n \u2014 which is 39% owned by the U.K. government \u2014 disagreed with his political views, particularly his campaign for Brexit.<\/p>\n

\n

In an 85-page report published Tuesday, the FCA said all 34 financial institutions contacted had responded and none closed an account \u201cprimarily because of a customer\u2019s political views\u201d in the 12 months to June 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy far the most common reasons providers gave for declining, suspending or terminating an account were because it was inactive\/dormant or because there were concerns about financial crime,\u201d said the FCA. Where personal beliefs were given as a reason, for a majority of cases it was due to customer behavior, such as racist language directed at staff.<\/p>\n

However, the regulator stressed that its investigation had been undertaken quickly \u201cand to recognise gaps and inconsistencies within it, we do not believe we can currently accurately use aggregate figures or averages.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile no bank, building society or payment firm reported to us that they had closed accounts primarily due to someone\u2019s political views, further work is needed for us to be sure,\u201d said Nikhil Rathi, the FCA\u2019s chief executive, on Tuesday<\/p>\n

Farage, who had produced evidence that Coutts closed his account because the bank said it considered his views \u201cat odds with our position as an inclusive organisation\u201d, said the FCA report was \u201ca complete and utter farce, it is a total whitewash, it is a joke\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dame Alison Rose resigned as NatWest chief executive in July after it emerged she had incorrectly briefed the BBC over why Coutts had closed Farage\u2019s account.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.K.\u2019s premier financial regulator said it found no evidence that banks closed customers accounts solely because of their political views, but admitted its investigation had gaps given its speed. The Financial Conduct Authority began its report in August after claims by Nigel Farage, the former UK Independence Party leader, that he lost his account […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\nU.K. regulator dismisses claims of politically-motivated bank account closures \u2014 Brexiter Farage cries foul | Prosfunds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.K.\u2019s premier financial regulator said it found no evidence that banks closed customers accounts solely because of their political views, but\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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