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LONDON — NatWest Chief Executive Alison Rose stepped down in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after she confessed to being the source for an inaccurate BBC story about why Nigel Farage was dropped as a client by NatWest-owned Coutts bank.
Rose fell on her sword in a late-night summit of the bank’s board — less than eight hours after it pledged “full confidence” in her — when she lost the support of Downing Street and the Treasury. Farage’s account with Coutts was closed earlier this year, and internal bank documents show his political views were a factor.
Rose admitted she was the source of the BBC story on Tuesday afternoon, after which the board said it had “full confidence” in her. But she faced pressure to resign, with the Sun reporting Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had “serious concerns” over her handling of the “debanking” controversy, and the Times reporting Number 10 wanted her to quit.
NatWest later said that Rose had “agreed by mutual consent to step down as Group Chief Executive with immediate effect,” following a late night board meeting. Commercial CEO Paul Thwaite has been appointed interim chief executive.
In June, former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said his bank account at Coutts had been closed with no reason provided, prompting speculation as to why. BBC Business Editor Simon Jack sat next to Rose at a dinner on July 3, and the next morning quoted “people familiar with the matter” saying Farage “fell below the financial threshold required to hold an account at Coutts.”
But Farage then obtained 40 pages of documents which showed that — while commercial grounds did play a part — the bank was also worried his views were “at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation.” A briefing presented to the bank’s “reputational risk committee” said Farage was considered to be a “disingenuous grifter” with “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views.”
Rose admitted she had spoken to Jack and apologized for doing so — but insisted she had not seen those documents at the time and “did not reveal any personal financial information about Mr Farage.”
The bank’s conduct prompted a backlash from MPs and ministers, who demanded answers from NatWest and warned of serious free speech ramifications.
Home Office minister Chris Philip told Times Radio Wednesday morning that Rose had done the right thing in resigning.
“It’s fairly clear that she passed on confidential information about a bank client, Nigel Farage, to a journalist,” he said. “It turns out that information was also inaccurate. And I think it’s also wrong in the first place, that somebody was denied banking services simply because of their political views.”
He added: “We believe in free speech and freedom of political opinions in this country.”
Responding to Rose’s exit on Twitter, Farage said: “Others must follow. I hope that this serves as a warning to the banking industry.”