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The U.K government will make it harder for banks to close accounts after a dispute between the former leader of the U.K. Independence Party and a leading advocate for Brexit, Nigel Farage, and private bank, Coutts & Co.
Banks will be forced to explain and delay any decision to close an account under the new rules, the U.K. Treasury said in a statement on Thursday.
Customers will also be able to challenge account closures more easily, it added.
The move comes after Farage alleged Coutts targeted him because of his political views.
However, the bank earlier said the account closure was a commercial decision.
Under the new rules, banks will have to give a notice period of 90 days before closing an account, giving account holders more time to appeal against the decision.
They will also have to spell out why they want to close an account, making it easier for customers to challenge closures.
The U.K. Treasury is also seeking clarity on the handling of Mr Farage’s accounts from Alison Rose, the CEO of the banking group NatWest
NWG,
which owns Coutts, the BBC reported.
Earlier Farage obtained documents, which were shared with the Daily Mail newspaper, including minutes of a Coutts meeting where both “commercial” reasons and “reputational risk” associated with his political views are cited as reasons behind terminating his account with them. The 40-page report mentioned Brexit and his alleged links to Russia.
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