Have you been following the story of the cancellation of Nigel Farage by Coutts? Coutts is an exclusive private bank owned by National Westminster Bank (NatWest). Farage was a driving force behind Brexit. He’s the British equivalent of Donald Trump. Britain’s version of the deep state has never forgiven him.
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Coutts dumped Farage as a client, canceling his accounts.
But wait, it gets better. Coutts then lied about the incident. NatWest claimed the Farage cancellation was because he didn’t have enough money to qualify for their services. That was false. But wait, there’s more…
There have been articles about the financial attack in the British press. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is now following along.
The WSJ is reporting Coutts ditched Farage because of his pro-Brexit and anti-woke views. It goes on to relate a story about a charity dinner where Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest, sat next to the BBC’s business editor. Ms. Rose told him Mr. Farage was axed because he wasn’t a profitable customer. The journalist wrote that story citing a “trusted and senior source.”
Mr. Farage, for his part, acquired and shared from a 40-page Coutts document including a list of his political views the bank felt created “significant reputational risks of being associated with him.” The document describes Farage’s views as “xenophobic and racist,” saying he was “considered by many to be a disingenuous grifter…”
The story mushroomed, causing Ms. Rose to resign from NatWest. The BBC has apologized for its incorrect report.
Again from the WSJ, An email laying out the decision… included in the document published by Farage—pointed to “controversial public statements which were felt to conflict with the bank’s purpose.” The bank sensed the danger from axing [Farage]… it could face negative coverage if Farage decided to “go public…”
What should be readily apparent from this incident is the risk of banks cutting off customers for having the wrong political views. Make no mistake; this happened in the UK, but it can just as easily happen here.
A problem with acting on “reputational risk” is it is a one-way street. Let’s do the same exercise with Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labor leader, as the object. Mr. Corbyn is a notorious socialist and anti-Semite. Have you ever heard of a company declining to do business with him because of damage to the company’s reputation?
Look, with Brexit, the issue enraging Leftists is Mr. Farage represented the majority of U.K. voters. These Leftist banking executives are enforcing the will of the minority.
Most recently, Mr. Farage has gone on the offense. He is demanding the entire NatWest board of directors resign while pledging to help others similarly injured by leftist prejudice in banking.
What’s your position on cancel culture? Are you a win at all costs, there’s nothing too bad that can happen to the opposition kind of person. What qualifies as sufficient reason to bar someone from the banking system? Remember, we are really close to Central Bank Digital Currency and cancellation with the click of a mouse.
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