FARAGE scandal: Alison Rose, CEO of the NatWest banking group, resigns
CEO Alison Rose resigned with immediate effect on Wednesday after admitting she made a "major error of judgement" in discussing former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage's relationship with the bank with a BBC reporter.
Paul Thwaite, head of the bank's commercial and institutional operations, will lead NatWest for an initial 12-month term, the company said in a statement.
NatWest has faced intense political and media scrutiny over its private bank Coutts' decision to close Nigel Farage's accounts. An internal review obtained by the politician-turned-television host showed that Coutts' wealth reputational risk committee had said his "values didn't align with those of the bank."
In a post on social media platform X on Wednesday, Farage called for more heads to be raised following Rose's resignation.
“Others must follow,” he said. I hope this serves as a warning to the banking sector,” he said, pledging to speak on behalf of others whose accounts have been closed.
Why Alison Rose had to quit
Alison Rose had to resign because, when Nigel Farage's account at NatWest-controlled Coutts bank was closed, she confidentially told a BBC reporter that the account had been closed due to financial considerations because Farage did not meet the requirements minimum assets for Coutts.
Instead, the presenter, a former political figure, verified, by requesting the documents from the bank itself, on the basis of consumer rights, that the reasons were "Non-alignment of values", therefore not patrimonial. Then Alison Rons:
- revealed sensitive and confidential information about a customer;
- revealed misinformation and detriment about Farage.
What British government and politics are saying
A government official told Reuters that ministers were not happy with the way Rose has been performing and that she did "the right thing" by resigning. NatWest remains 39% taxpayer-owned following its bailout in the 2008-9 financial crisis.
“I hope the entire financial sector learns from this incident. His role is to serve clients fairly and fairly, not to tell them how or what to think,” Financial Services Minister Andrew Griffith said on Platform X.
Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor Party, told BBC radio that Rose was right to resign and said no one should be refused banking services for their political views.
Next Tuesday, the government will report on a project that should avoid such accidents in the future.
Rose, who had a career spanning more than 30 years at the state lender and was appointed Dame, l'equivalent of Lord, for services to the financial sector, faced days of speculation as to whether she had discussed the account after the BBC ran a story on the matter.
On Tuesday, he admitted in a statement that he had discussed Farage's "bank relationship" with BBC Business editor Simon Jack.
At the time, NatWest chairman Howard Davies said Rose retained the "full confidence" of the bank's board and that there would be an independent review of the matter. But following an emergency board meeting late Tuesday evening, the bank said it would step down.
Now evidently this trust has run out.
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The article FARAGE scandal: Alison Rose, CEO of the NatWest banking group, resigns comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/scandalo-farage-si-dimette-alison-rose-ceo-del-gruppo-bancario-natwest/ on Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:20:51 +0000.