There are probably worse things a senior banker could do. Taking all the money and running off to the Bahamas, or rescuing Credit Suisse, for example. But leaking confidential information about a client to the BBC is right up there with the worst sins imaginable.
After it became clear that the NatWest boss Alison Rose was the source of the BBC’s report that Nigel Farage’s account with Coutts had been closed for financial reasons, and had nothing to do with his politics, the pressure on her to quit became unstoppable. It will have come as no surprise to anyone that by this morning Rose had resigned. Even so, that can hardly be the end of the story. NatWest still needs to change radically, and so does a banking industry captured by pious compliance departments.
It is not for banks to try and impose a narrow, intolerant view of the world on everyone else
It is now clear to everyone that Coutts was monitoring Farage’s political views, making judgements on whether that made him suitable as a customer.
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