Alison Rose resigns as Natwest chief over Farage leak after midnight board drama
Dame Alison Rose, the Natwest chief executive at the centre of a leaking scandal, resigned overnight after an extraordinary late-night board meeting – just hours after the bank’s Chairman issued a statement offering her their full confidence.
Rose outed herself as the source of a BBC story into the finances of Nigel Farage, who had claimed that Natwest-owned Coutts had ‘debanked’ him over his political views.
Rose admitted to unwittingly giving the impression to a BBC journalist that Farage was given the boot by Coutts due to his personal wealth not hitting the boutique bank’s wealth requirements.
However it later transpired, after a subject access request by the former UKIP party leader, that he had indeed been barred from an account due to his political beliefs. The BBC and Rose apologised for the misreporting.
Despite the “error of judgment,” Natwest chair Lord Howard Davies issued a statement yesterday just before 6pm giving Rose his full support.
Rose was adamant that she did not discuss Farage’s finances, but had made a general comment about eligibility criteria for obtaining a Coutts’ bank account.
While this was initially sufficient for Natwest, pressure built on Rose into the evening, with sources inside No. 10 and the Treasury reportedly unimpressed with Natwest’s decision to keep the CEO in post.
Natwest convened an extraordinary board meeting into the early hours which saw her depart by mutual consent.
“The Board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group. It is a sad moment. She has dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her,” Lord Davies said in a statement issued at 1:29am on Wednesday morning.
Paul Thwaite, the current CEO of the bank’s commercial and institutional business, will take the reins on an interim basis.
Rose, who started her career at the National Westminster Bank, said: “I remain immensely proud of the progress the bank has made in supporting people, families and business across the UK, and building the foundations for sustainable growth. My NatWest colleagues are central to that success, and so I would like to personally thank them for all that they have done.”
It leaves Natwest searching for a new CEO whilst it is also on the hunt for a new chair, with Lord Davies set to step down next year.