NatWest backs Rose as she admits ‘serious error of judgment’ in Farage case

The board of NatWest Group has said it retains “full confidence” in Dame Alison Rose, as she admitted to a “serious error of judgment” in discussing Nigel Farage’s relationship with private bank Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, with a BBC journalist.

In a statement, NatWest Group’s chairman Sir Howard Davies said the bank’s chief executive “should not have spoken in the way she did” and that the events will be “taken into account in decisions on remuneration at the appropriate time”.

However, Sir Howard said the board concluded that “it retains full confidence in Ms Rose as CEO of the bank”, having proved over the last four years to be “an outstanding leader of the institution”.

The statement comes after the chairman was put under mounting pressure to determine whether Dame Alison had played a role in the leaking of Mr Farage’s information.

Mr Farage won an apology from the BBC over an inaccurate story that suggested the closure of his account was not due to his political views but because he lacked the funds needed to hold an account at the high-net-worth bank.

The BBC’s business editor Simon Jack also apologised, saying the reporting had been based on information from a “trusted and senior source” but “turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate”.

In a separate statement released alongside Sir Howard, Dame Alison said she was the source of the story and admitted that she made “a serious error of judgment” during her discussions with Mr Jack.

She said: “I recognise that in my conversations with Simon Jack of the BBC, I made a serious error of judgment in discussing Mr Farage’s relationship with the bank.”

However, she said that when she disclosed the information about the former MEP’s banking relationship, she believed it to be already public knowledge.

She said: “Believing it was public knowledge, I confirmed that Mr Farage was a Coutts customer and that he had been offered a NatWest bank account. Alongside this, I repeated what Mr Farage had already stated, that the bank saw this as a commercial decision.

“I would like to emphasise that in responding to Mr Jack’s questions I did not reveal any personal financial information about Mr Farage.

“In response to a general question about eligibility criteria required to bank with Coutts and NatWest I said that guidance on both was publicly available on their websites. In doing so, I recognise that I left Mr Jack with the impression that the decision to close Mr Farage’s accounts was solely a commercial one.”

Sir Howard said: “As she (Dame Alison) recognises, she should not have spoken in the way she did. This was a regrettable error of judgment on her part. The events will be taken into account in decisions on remuneration at the appropriate time.

“However, after careful reflection the board has concluded that it retains full confidence in Ms Rose as CEO of the bank.”

He added: “The board is clear that the overall handling of the circumstances surrounding Mr Farage accounts has been unsatisfactory, with serious consequences for the bank. The board will commission an independent review into the account closure arrangement at Coutts, and the lessons to be learnt from this.”

Mr Farage, the former Brexit Party leader, acquired dossiers indicating that his bank account was shut by Coutts because it found his public statements did “not align” with its values.

The ex-MEP-turned broadcaster had already received an apology from Dame Alison for “deeply inappropriate comments” about him in official papers.

Commenting on Dame Alison and Sir Howard’s statements, Sheldon Mills, Financial Conduct Authority executive director, consumers and competition, said: “We have raised concerns with NatWest Group and Coutts about the allegations relating to account closures and breach of customer confidentiality since these came to light.

“We made clear our expectation that these issues should be independently reviewed and note today’s statement from the NatWest Group Board confirming this will happen.

“It is vital that the review is well resourced and those conducting it have access to all the necessary information and people in order to investigate what happened swiftly and fully.

“On the basis of the review and any steps taken by other authorities, such as the Financial Ombudsman Service or Information Commissioner, on relevant complaints, we will decide if any further action is necessary.”