NatWest shares slide after chief executive Alison Rose's resignation in Farage row

Departure follows dispute over former politician Nigel Farage's bank account

Alison Rose, chief executive officer of NatWest, is stepping down. Bloomberg

Shares in NatWest bank lost as much as 3.6 per cent in trading in London, following the resignation of the bank's chief executive, Alison Rose.

Ms Rose resigned following the controversy over the way the British bank closed accounts held by politician-turned-broadcaster Nigel Farage.

Mr Farage claimed his accounts at NatWest subsidiary Coutts were shut because of his political views.

Ms Rose admitted she had made a “serious error of judgment” when she discussed Mr Farage's relationship with Coutts with a BBC journalist.

The resignation came hours after a statement from NatWest's board which said Ms Rose retained their “full confidence”,

However, sources say that political pressure was brought to bear after Downing Street was said to have “serious concerns” about her conduct.

The chairman of the NatWest Group board, Howard Davies, said Ms Rose's departure from the bank was "a sad moment" and that she had "dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her".

NatWest Group is still 43 per cent owned by the British taxpayer, having been bailed out after the 2008 financial crisis.

Mr Farage said Ms Rose's resignation "had to happen".

"The first rule of banking is you have to respect the privacy of the customer," he told GB News.

Not an isolated case

In recent weeks, Mr Farage has been highly critical about the decision by Coutts, which caters to some of the UK’s wealthiest people, including royalty, to "de-bank" him.

Mr Farage had obtained documents from Coutts showing that staff discussed how some of his political standpoints were not aligned with the bank’s purpose.

On Wednesday, he told the BBC that his is not an isolated case.

“I was kicked out of the bank because of my political views,” he told the Today programme.

Nigel Farage says banks should not act as 'moral arbiters'. AP

“What on Earth does that have to do with the bank? Their job is to run a bank, not to become moral arbiters.

“The frightening piece is this: I am far from alone. Many other people have come forward to say they've been shut out because of what they stand for and what they believe and now the banks are working on monitoring the social media ... that needs to be stopped.”

Freedom of expression

At a meeting called by City minister Andrew Griffith on Wednesday, UK bank bosses were told it is not the job of banks to "tell us what to think".

"In a democracy that relies upon freedom of expression, freedom of thought, that isn't a legitimate thing for a bank to remove someone's access to a bank account, a really important building block of society today."

Charlie Nunn, the head of NatWest rival Lloyds, insisted the UK banking industry does not need to revamp its de-banking policies to any significant degree.

Mr Nunn stressed Lloyds primarily considers financial crime risks when closing a customer's bank account, and does not consider their political beliefs.

"At this stage, I have no concerns that the government, or what we're being asked to do, conflicts with our ability to protect the UK economy and customers from economic crime," he said.