Re: The Bank of Farage
 

I think we’re way beyond the optics of this now though. Yesterday I was leaning towards old-fashioned upper class snobbery as the reason for wanting to get rid of Farage, the sort of person a snooty-nosed upper class twit might snort at and call an ‘odious little oik’ or somesuch. It now looks very much as if the fault line lies between the socially conservative and socially liberal views that divide this country (those on one side shout ‘woke’ at the other, the others shout back ‘gammon’).

‘Inclusivity and purpose’ isn’t about Farage’s connection with Trump, Putin or Brexit per se, but the social views Coutts believe are driving him. Alarm bells should be ringing here for all of us, because there is now an entirely plausible claim that the bank tried to bin him for his association with certain social/political causes. If that’s the case we need to be thinking long and hard about the extent to which we allow major corporations to police the socio-political views of the population.

---------- Post added at 12:32 ---------- Previous post was at 12:27 ----------

Except that there is clearly a lot of flexibility over how the ‘rules’ are applied once you have a foot in the door, and there is no evidence that his finances flagged up on any automatic system designed to draw attention to accounts that no longer met those rules.

They were *looking* for reasons to bin him, and while their own rules on investment/borrowing were actually adequate reasons for doing so, they were not the reasons that drove the process, nor were they the ones that sealed his fate.

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

So what proportion of the document wasn't biased nonsense? Eg "Team uncovered adverse press." and goes on to list some of them. How many of their high-profile clients wouldn't have "adverse press"?
Link

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

Surely that’s for them to manage for those that don’t meet the criteria.

I fear for the future of the British state as a chumocracy if we start telling exclusive institutions they have to let anyone in.

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

In terms of adverse press:
- Most of Coutts' clients would try and avoid the press so would have no adverse press.
- High-profile clients would probably have some adverse press
- But shock jocks like Farage who make a living from courting controversial opinions are going to have more adverse press about them.

---------- Post added at 12:46 ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 ----------

I think jonbxx nails it here

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

He can always bank with NatWest…

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

So we have no need to worry that a major corporation thinks it’s its job to police our politics because we’re not important enough to be noticed? Colour me reassured. Not.

There’s a question of principle here, not least because how corporations treat well known holders of certain opinions can have a chilling effect lower down the ladder of celebrity. We can’t have a situation develop where businesses get to decide which social views are articulated or are acceptable. If nothing else, businesses, particularly large, public listed ones, have no intrinsic morals or social views outside of what they think works best with their marketing strategy. It’s a dangerously capricious state of affairs which shouldn’t be allowed to become normalised.

---------- Post added at 12:55 ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 ----------

You’re wilfully missing the point.

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

No, one of his main points was that he couldn’t get a bank account.

Coutts appear to have decided that, as a bank who are a byword for discretion, the potential downside of having a professional self-publicist whose main aim in life seems to be to stir up outrage, wasn’t worth the effort.

Let’s see what the FCA investigation brings about - but I’m pretty sure that if it finds no fault in the process, more faux-victimisation will result.

Strange how all Osborne’s stories about peoples’ bank accounts being closed were ignored, but this story is being blown up out of all proportion (imho) - I wonder what the difference could be?

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

Farage certainly did himself no favours with all the hyperbolic nonsense about being totally excluded from the banking system when the story first broke. But the dossier of internal Coutts debates over how to get rid of him do them no favours either. Farage’s public profile has been far higher than it is now. If they wanted to use a fairly industry-standard measure of political exposure to get rid of him then they could have done it years ago.

The questions we have to hope the FCA answers are, why hide their social-political reasons behind their financial criteria, and why now?

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

What’s the point of running an exclusive institution if you don’t have some flexibility around who is (or isnt) an appropriate person.

I’m quite sure when mortgages end it flags on systems in advance and they don’t continue in perpetuity until someone notices.

Considering his views have been well known for so long they randomly came up with the idea and chanced upon the fact he’d no longer meet the criteria in a small number of months.

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

Politics shouldn't be a reason. It's a really dangerous and dodgy ground to be on. I could understand if it's someone universally accepted as beyond the pale, if a white nationalist KKK member wanted it then I think we can accept that, but Farage is well within the standard spectrum of political opinion.

Also, I imagine a lot of PEP-flagged people bank with Coutts so that clearly isn't a reason.

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

I didn’t say politics was the reason. I only responded to the observation that there’s flexibility as if that’s some kind of shock.

If he (or anyone) doesn’t meet their criteria it’s up to them how they manage their reputation and brand. That’s surely a basic premise of the free market, especially if someone is vocal about the fact they use your products or services.

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

The offer came AFTER his account was closed and AFTER several other banks turned him down.

---------- Post added at 16:23 ---------- Previous post was at 16:22 ----------

Define "vocal". Is that mentioning it once or frequently?

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

That’s the story here, 52% of the country voted for Brexit - the greatest democratic mandate in the history of this great nation so I hear - yet every single bank he goes to turns him down for political reasons. Doesn’t add up.

It wouldn’t be for me to dictate to capitalist enterprises who value their reputations. They can do that themselves using their entrepreneurial spirit.

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/nig...ad-2023-07-04/ (July 4th 2023)

Not "after his account was closed", but when he was told his accounts were going to be closed…

Re: The Bank of Farage
 

BREAKING: NatWest CEO Apologises to Farage for ‘deeply inappropriate comments’ on documents outlining why his account was closed.

---------- Post added at 17:41 ---------- Previous post was at 17:35 ----------

Do most of you feel stupid in this thread?

Some of you ought to be, given that grovelling apology to him just released. :rolleyes: