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Brexiteer Nigel Farage claimed his fancy bank was persecuting him for his politics, but it turned out he couldn't maintain the minimum balance [1]
['Rob Beschizza']
Date: 2023-07-04
Nigel Farage, notable for his far-right politics, relentless pursuit of Brexit and being easily pranked, publicly accused his bank of a conspiracy to silence him by closing his account. His claim even elicited a statement from the current Conservative government warning banks not to close accounts for political reasons. It turns out, though, that Coutts closed the account because Farage could not maintain the exclusive bank's minimum balance, and that it had offered to transfer his money to its parent bank, NatWest, which offers checking accounts for people who do not require Coutts' wealth management services.
Nigel Farage fell below the financial threshold required to hold an account at Coutts, the prestigious private bank for the wealthy, the BBC has been told. It is understood that he was subsequently offered a standard account at NatWest which owns Coutts.
Mr Farage says he believes his account is being shut for political reasons and says he has been turned down by nine other lenders after trying elsewhere. But people familiar with Coutts' move said it was a "commercial" decision.
"The criteria for holding a Coutts account are clear from the bank's website," they told the BBC. Coutts requires its customers to borrow or invest at least £1m with the bank or hold £3m in savings.
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[1] Url:
https://boingboing.net/2023/07/04/brexiteer-nigel-farage-claimed-his-fancy-bank-was-persecuting-him-for-his-politics-but-it-turned-out-he-couldnt-maintain-the-minimum-balance.html
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