FCA ramps up pressure on NatWest

The City watchdog has piled further pressure on NatWest by insisting it could still take action against the bank over the scandal surrounding the closure of Nigel Farage’s account.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said an independent review must go ahead, even after the resignations of the two bosses at the heart of the blunder.

‘We expect that review to be done swiftly. Then we will decide what further action we will take,’ said Sheldon Mills, FCA executive director for consumers and competition.

NatWest will come under intense scrutiny over the episode today as it publishes half-year results, with attention turning to whether chairman Sir Howard Davies will fall on his sword.

Chief executive Dame Alison Rose has gone while Peter Flavel, the boss of Coutts, the NatWest subsidiary that closed Farage’s account, was ousted yesterday.

The FCA put NatWest on notice this week over the scandal, which centred on Farage’s claim that his account was closed because of his political views.

Rose’s fate was sealed after she leaked private information about the former Ukip leader to a BBC journalist. It also prompted NatWest to launch an independent review and the FCA last night insisted that must still go ahead.

Rose’s departure was announced on Wednesday while her replacement Paul Thwaite, in his first act as interim chief executive, announced Flavel’s exit.

But Mills scotched any hope that sacrificing them would draw a line under the affair and said it wanted the probe to get to the bottom of what happened.

‘We still expect that there will be an independent external review which the NatWest group will undertake,’ he said. ‘We expect to see the outcome of the review. We expect them to put significant resources into that review, to make their senior executives available for that review, so that those independent examiners can interview people and ensure that there’s a proper review of these circumstances.’

He would not comment on what further action the FCA might take. The affair has raised questions over the governance of NatWest, which remains 39pc-owned by the taxpayer after its collapse during the 2008 financial crisis. Farage has called for a clear-out of the entire boardroom.

And some major investors have been highly critical of Davies.

It was he who declared – after Rose’s admission about leaking information – that she was an ‘outstanding leader’ who had the board’s full confidence.

Hours later she was gone. Martin Walker, head of UK equities at Invesco, which has a stake in the bank, told The Times: ‘Frankly, I am appalled at both management and board behaviour. Her [Rose’s] role was clearly untenable. You have to call into question the judgment of the board.’

The bank is also facing a probe by the Information Commissioner’s Office into whether Rose’s actions would ‘constitute a serious data breach’. City minister Andrew Griffith this week told leading bank figures that forcing clients out because of political beliefs will not be tolerated.