The Bank of Farage

[Mr K]

It's getting worse for Nige, no one will give him a bank account now. Maybe his employer isn't secure or he's got a reputation for giving out dodgy financial advice ?
https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/new...-b2366479.html

Nigel Farage has claimed that the "establishment" is trying to "force him out of the UK" by closing his bank accounts.

In a video, the GB News presenter says that he has been with the same banking group since 1980 but has recently received a phone call explaining his accounts are being closed.

The former UKIP leader goes on to describe how he went to seven other banks to find another personal and business account and has been refused at each one.

He’s with Coutts - if one doesn’t have a consistently high level of regular income, or a combination of savings, income, and loans with them of over a certain amount*, they ask the account holder to bank elsewhere; nothing unusual happening there…

(Can’t comment on the other banks…)

* Clients are required to maintain at least £1m in investments or borrowing (mortgage), or £3m in savings.

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Mr K

It's getting worse for Nige, no one will give him a bank account now. Maybe his employer isn't secure or he's got a reputation for giving out dodgy financial advice ?
https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/new...-b2366479.html

Or maybe there are some transactions he can't explain, I'd suggest the banking ombudsman is the place to go rather than crying on social media, that is assuming the banks acted inappropriately of course

You never know if he is lying or the full truth of it. If we assume his account isn't being closed because he doesn't meet income requirements, he doesn't have some transactions they don't want to deal with and 7 other banks have rejected him then it's a concern. We don't want banks to deny service based on the customer doing legal actions they just happen to disagree with.

One bank rejecting you isn't that uncommon. Several banks have randomly and arbitrarily closed customers' accounts based on some algorithm and recently crypto has caused customers to lose accounts. Several banks then rejecting your business is less common.

But we don't know the whole details. I imagine it is a case that the other banks he has gone too have income requirements he doesn't meet. I doubt he has gone to HSBC and tried to open a conventional retail bank account.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Damien

You never know if he is lying or the full truth of it. If we assume his account isn't being closed because he doesn't meet income requirements, he doesn't have some transactions they don't want to deal with and 7 other banks have rejected him then it's a concern. We don't want banks to deny service based on the customer doing legal actions they just happen to disagree with.

One bank rejecting you isn't that uncommon. Several banks have randomly and arbitrarily closed customers' accounts based on some algorithm and recently crypto has caused customers to lose accounts. Several banks then rejecting your business is less common.

But we don't know the whole details. I imagine it is a case that the other banks he has gone too have income requirements he doesn't meet. I doubt he has gone to HSBC and tried to open a conventional retail bank account.

Agreed - I assume he's gone to banks aimed at high net worth individuals in the knowledge that he won't qualify so he can make a story of it. If he wants a bank account, he could have signed up to Revolut in less time than it took him to make that whingecast.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Agreed - I assume he's gone to banks aimed at high net worth individuals in the knowledge that he won't qualify so he can make a story of it. If he wants a bank account, he could have signed up to Revolut in less time than it took him to make that whingecast.

That’s quite an assumption.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Pierre

That’s quite an assumption.

Far from it. He's an intelligent guy who knows how the financial sector works and how to pitch a tale to his audience.

Originally Posted by Pierre

That’s quite an assumption.

Well, probably not. He mentions it was a prestigious bank and he was a commodity trader for a long time. As Hugh mentioned he was with Coutts:

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/...o-explanation/

However in 2019, the Times reported that Farage banked with Coutts, which has served the Queen and every member of the royal family since George IV.

So I think it makes sense he went with a similar institution. These people don't care about your politics, they deal with discretion for high-worth individuals. They're not trying to appease The Guardian or young people in their 20s.

[Ms NTL]

A nice gift for Brexiteers: the banks can close all your accounts and shred your credit cards.

They did it to Farage and he says that can happen to you too!

Originally Posted by Ms NTL

A nice gift for Brexiteers: the banks can close all your accounts and shred your credit cards.

They did it to Farage and he says that can happen to you too!

We’ve had half a story, and as stated in another thread, Coutts routinely close customers accounts when they don’t meet their assets threshold…

[Ms NTL]

Why no other bank accepts him? He cannot transfer his money.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Ms NTL

Why no other bank accepts him? He cannot transfer his money.

His story has "evolved" in a subsequent broadcast. He now says his bank (who we know as Coutts from other sources) offered him a personal bank account with a sister bank (presumably NatWest who own Coutts) but would not offer him a business account.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Hugh

We’ve have half a story, and as stated in another thread, Coutts routinely close customers accounts when they don’t meet their assets threshold…

And offer them an account with their sister bank NatWest instead.

[Sephiroth]

Farage mentioned the possibility of leaving the UK and indicated that he would take a couple of weeks off to think things through. Doesn’t have French citizenship too? Does anyone know? Thus might Farage, a great man, decamp to the EU?

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Farage mentioned the possibility of leaving the UK and indicated that he would take a couple of weeks off to think things through. Doesn’t have French citizenship too? Does anyone know? Thus might Farage, a great man, decamp to the EU?

I might actually wet myself laughing if this happens.