Peter Flavel, the head of Coutts, the esteemed private bank serving affluent clients, has resigned following the controversy surrounding the closure of Nigel Farage's bank account. Flavel, who held the position, and NatWest, the parent company of Coutts, reached a mutual agreement for his immediate departure.
Flavel expressed that the manner in which the bank dealt with Farage's account closure did not meet the institution's high standards of personalized service. This development comes shortly after the resignation of Dame Alison Rose, the head of NatWest Group.
Mohammad Kamal Syed is slated to assume the role of Coutts' interim boss. The recent incident involving Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party and a prominent supporter of Brexit, unfolded in early July when he revealed that his private bank account at Coutts had been closed without any given reason.
According to reports, the account was closed because Farage no longer met the wealth threshold required by Coutts. However, it later came to light that Farage obtained a report from the bank, which disclosed that his political views were also taken into consideration.
The report raised concerns about Farage being described as "xenophobic and racist," and it questioned the potential risk to Coutts' reputation associated with having him as a client.