The independent review into the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts account and the discussion of his banking with a journalist by the head of the bank has found “a number of shortcomings” in the closure process.

But law firm Travers Smith, who were commissioned by the board of NatWest to conduct the review, said the closure of Mr Farage’s account, “was predominantly a commercial decision”.

“Coutts considered its relationship with Mr Farage to be commercially unviable because it was significantly loss-making.”

In response to the key findings of the report, NatWest chairman, Sir Howard Davies, said “a number of serious failings” were set out in the treatment of Mr Farage.

Shortcomings were also identified in how NatWest, which owns Coutts, communicated with the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader and how it treated his confidential information, according to the review.

The finance watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said potential “regulatory breaches and a number of areas for improvement” were identified.

These include NatWest’s processes on how it considers potential accounts closures and customers complaints as well as the effectiveness of governance mechanisms.

Aldermore ditches Co-operative Bank bid after parent’s CEO quits

Profits up at Lloyds – as it warns house prices to keep falling until 2025

Cap on bankers’ bonuses to be abolished next week

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Former chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, exited the state-backed lender after she admitted making a “serious error of judgment” by speaking to a journalist about Farage’s banking at Coutts.

After the news piece was published Mr Farage released the content of a subject access request, which suggested the move was taken partly because his views did not align with the firm’s “values”.

Related posts:

‘We gotta pay for this’: Biden proposes corporate tax rises to pay for infrastructure projects Law firm Irwin Mitchell plots £500m London float Ex-Booker chief Wilson swoops for stake in news distributor Menzies Facebook could be forced to sell GIF library Giphy by UK regulator Dutch government only has itself to blame for Shell shift to UK from the Netherlands Oatly shares turn sour after it counts cost of supply chain and production problems Klarna investors asked to commit to funding as value slips to $10bn Bailey opposes Treasury plot to overrule financial regulators Ex-Nissan chief seeks $1bn from carmaker in defamation lawsuit London-listed Cake Box gets fully baked offer from Australia NatWest braced for showdown over former CEO’s payoff Qatari businessman ‘withdrawing from process’ to buy Man Utd