An independent review into NatWest Group's decision to close the bank account of the former UK Independence Party leader, Nigel Farage, has found a number of “serious failings” in how the group, including its subsidiary Coutts, treated the politician.
The report was conducted by the law firm Travers Smith in the wake of the debanking saga, which culminated in the resignation of NatWest Group chief executive Dame Alison Rose.
“Although Travers Smith confirm the lawful basis for the exit decision, the findings set out clear shortcomings in how it was reached, as well as failures in how we communicated with him and in relation to client confidentiality,” said NatWest chairman Sir Howard Davies.
“We apologise once again to Mr Farage for how he has been treated. His experience fell short of the standards that any customer should expect.”
'Laughable'
For his part, Mr Farage dismissed the report, calling it a "whitewash."
“The report's authors claim it was 'predominantly a commercial decision' to close my accounts but, crucially, they also noted that evidence given to them by witnesses in relation to this episode was not entirely consistent," he said.
“Travers Smith has taken a very mealy-mouthed approach to this complex issue. The law firm argues that my political views 'not aligning with those of the bank' was not in itself a political decision. This is laughable.”
Meanwhile, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday it had identified potential “regulatory breaches” in NatWest's handling of the decision to close Mr Farage's Coutts bank account.
The FCA said the Travers Smith review, as well as addition information, had highlighted a “number of areas for improvement”, including the process and systems NatWest and Coutts have for closing bank accounts, as well as the effectiveness of their governance mechanisms.
Gloomy outlook
The release of the review's findings came as NatWest Group posted its third-quarter results, which showed a pre-tax profit of £1.3 billion ($1.58 billion) for the three months between July and September, up from £1.1 billion a year earlier and broadly in line with what analysts had expected.
However, NatWest's net interest margin (NIM), a key measure of lending profitability, came in at 2.94 per cent, down 0.19 percentage points as customers shifted savings from non-interest bearing savings accounts to those that paid out more.
NIM is essentially the difference between what banks charge in terms of interest rates to borrowers and the rates they offer to savers.
As a result, NatWest downgraded its margin forecast for the full year, to “greater than 3 per cent”, from a previous view of around 3.15 per cent.
For Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, all the major banks are experiencing this drop in their NIMs.
“The changing deposit mix has been a feature of the reporting season this far, as has the pressure on mortgage margins, which has impacted overall NIM,” he said.
There were some bright spots in NatWest's results but, overall, markets were disappointed by the NIM and the lender's shares fell by as much as 18 per cent in London.
“Deposit levels did grow, which is a positive sign that NatWest is pricing itself at the right levels to attract customers searching for higher rates,” said Matt Britzman, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“That trend is plain to see, with longer-term cash balances jumping to 15 per cent of the book – compared to 11 per cent last quarter. But it is [a] less profitable business than non/low-interest current accounts.
“Add in mortgage headwinds as highly profitable business written over the pandemic rolls off, and that has caused the hit to net interest margin.”
Paul Thwaite, NatWest's interim chief executive, said “credit losses and impairments remain low and we are ready and able to stand by our customers and businesses through the current economic uncertainty”.
Mr Thwaite took the helm in July after the resignation of Ms Rose.
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I Feel Pretty
Dir: Abby Kohn/Mark Silverstein
Starring: Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski, Rory Scovel
Results:
6.30pm: Maiden | US$45,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres
Winner: Tabarak, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer)
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Winner: Dubhe, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
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Winner: Nordic Lights, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 2 | $450,000 (D) | 1,900m
Winner: North America, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
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Winner: Mazzini, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
10pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,400m.
Winner: Mubtasim, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Uefa Champions League last 16 draw
Juventus v Tottenham Hotspur
Basel v Manchester City
Sevilla v Manchester United
Porto v Liverpool
Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
Chelsea v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Besiktas
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
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Transmission: Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
0-100kmh in 9.4 seconds
Top speed: 202kmh
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
Price: From Dh122,900
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')