7/4/23, 10:02 PM Nigel Farage bank account shut for falling below wealth limit - BBC News

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Nigel Farage bank account shut for falling

below wealth limit
2 hours ago

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By Simon Jack & Daniel Thomas

Business editor and business reporter

Nigel Farage fell below the financial threshold required to hold an account at
Coutts, the prestigious private bank for the wealthy, the BBC has been told.

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7/4/23, 10:02 PM Nigel Farage bank account shut for falling below wealth limit - BBC News

It is understood that he was subsequently offered a standard account at

NatWest which owns Coutts.

Mr Farage says he believes his account is being shut for political reasons and
says he has been turned down by nine other lenders after trying elsewhere.

But people familiar with Coutts' move said it was a "commercial" decision.

"The criteria for holding a Coutts account are clear from the bank's website,"
they told the BBC.

Coutts requires its customers to borrow or invest at least £1m with the bank
or hold £3m in savings.

Speaking to the BBC from France, Mr Farage did not dispute the fact that he
did not meet Coutts' threshold, but added: "They didn't have a problem with it
for the last 10 years."

The former leader of the UK Independence Party and Brexiteer later tweeted
that at "no point"" had Coutts given him a minimum threshold.

He added that his business account was being closed despite the fact that last
year he had "large significant positive cash balances" going through his
business account.

Coutts said it did not comment on individuals' accounts.

Banks warned against closing accounts over politics

Mr Farage recently posted a six-minute video on Twitter blaming "serious

political persecution" from an anti-Brexit banking industry.

He said that losing his bank account was the equivalent of being a "non-
person" and that the decision may "fundamentally affect my future career and
whether I can even go on staying living here in this country".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's the World at One on Tuesday, Mr Farage said that
Coutts had given him "no reason whatsoever" when they wrote to say that his
accounts would be closed, and he was given two months to find a new bank.

Mr Farage also disputed the fact that he was offered a NatWest account at the
time his Coutts accounts were withdrawn. He says the offer of a NatWest
account came late last week.

The former politician said the bank only did this when he "went public" with his
story, and that it only offered him a personal account, not a business account.

"Well what use to me is that?" he told the BBC. "I operate through a business,
that's how I live. Any income that comes to me personally comes through my
business."

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7/4/23, 10:02 PM Nigel Farage bank account shut for falling below wealth limit - BBC News

The BBC understands that the offer of a NatWest account still stands.

Mr Farage claims other banks have refused to take him on as a customer on

the grounds that he is a "politically exposed person" (PEP).

A PEP generally presents a higher risk for financial institutions as regulators

consider such people to be more exposed to the risk of potential involvement
in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and the influence they may
hold.

Mr Farage told the BBC: "Are you telling me that all the other banks say it was
a PEP thing and Coutts wasn't? Draw your own conclusions."

A Treasury spokesman said it would be a "serious concern" if financial services

were being denied to those exercising their right to lawful free speech.

"We are already looking into this issue and have passed a law that requires the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to review how banks treat politically
exposed persons - so we can strike the right balance between the customer's
right to free speech and the bank's right to manage commercial risk."

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