A regulatory investigation into debanking for political reasons did not consider the case of Nigel Farage, according to a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) source, even though it was his treatment by Coutts that sparked the probe.
The financial regulator published its report today with the conclusion there was no evidence that politicians' bank accounts were being closed because of their views.
Former UKIP leader Farage described the conclusion as “farcical” with the Telegraph quoting a senior regulator at the FCA as saying that one “high profile example" fell outside of the reporting period and also was being investigated by the bank involved.
Thirty-four banks and lenders were instructed by the FCA to submit details of account closures between June 2022 and 2023 after the government ordered it to carry out an investigation following outrage by ministers and Tory MPs over the treatment of the politician with claims others also had seen accounts closed.
In its statement, the FCA said it couldn’t find any cases where political views had caused an account to be closed.
“By far the most common reason providers gave for closing, suspending or declining an account was because it was inactive/dormant or because there were concerns about financial crime,” it said.
It qualified that by adding data had been collected quickly and work was still needed to address gaps in the data but added there is no right to an account in the UK but that is something for politicians to debate.
Nikhil Rathi, FCA chief executive, said: “While no bank, building society or payment firm reported to us that they had closed accounts primarily due to someone’s political views, further work is needed for us to be sure.
“As we undertake that work, the time is also right for a debate on how we balance access to bank accounts with the threat of financial crime, as well as firms’ reasonable risk and commercial appetites.
“An important question for policymakers is whether all individuals, businesses and organisations should have the right to an account, as is the case in some other countries.”