NatWest Faces Fallout after Treatment of Nigel Farage
Shares in NatWest (NWG, -11.47%) took a significant hit, plummeting by 12% on Friday. This came after the British bank confessed to "serious failings" in its handling of Nigel Farage, the prominent Brexit campaigner, subsequent to the closure of his account with NatWest's private banking subsidiary, Coutts.
Sir Howard Davies, NatWest's chairman, personally expressed his apology to the former UKIP leader. The catalyst for this apology was the release of a comprehensive and independent report conducted by the law firm Travers Smith. The report uncovered undisputed "shortcomings" in the management of the Farage incident.
It should be noted that the report was commissioned by NatWest itself. According to the findings, while the bank's choice to close Farage's account adhered to legal protocols, it was evident that there was a failure to clearly communicate the underlying reasons for such action. NatWest had simply informed Farage that the decision was based on commercial grounds.
Furthermore, the review undertaken by the law firm highlighted a contentious issue. Former NatWest CEO Dame Allison Rose was discovered to have leaked confidential information about Farage to a BBC journalist. This act potentially infringes upon privacy regulations, leading to potential consequences awaiting U.K. regulators.
In response to the report, Farage denounced it as a mere "whitewash." He firmly disputed the document's claims that his account closure was devoid of any political motivation. Farage specifically pointed out that the term "Brexit" appeared a staggering 86 times in the documents he obtained from NatWest through a Subject Access Request.
This incident has now thrust NatWest into the eye of the storm, facing significant repercussions amidst scrutiny of its treatment of Nigel Farage's account closure.
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