Disgraced Coutts CEO Peter Flavel quits after row over Nigel Farage's bank accounts but says he's 'proud' of record in top job
Coutts CEO Peter Flavel quits after row over Nigel Farage's bank accounts
PA/Coutts
The chief executive of the private bank Coutts has quit over his role in Nigel Farage's debanking debacle.
Peter Flavel, who became Coutts' boss in 2016, stepped down with immediate effect after the ex-Brexit Party leader called for more to follow NatWest's Dame Alison Rose out the door.
Paul Thwaite, the interim chief executive of NatWest, which owns Coutts, said: “I have agreed with Peter Flavel that he will step down as Coutts CEO and CEO of our Wealth Businesses by mutual consent with immediate effect.
“Whilst I will be personally sorry to lose Peter as a colleague, I believe this is the right decision for Coutts and the wider group.”
Coutts bank in LondonPAFlavel said: “I am exceptionally proud of my seven years at Coutts and I want to thank the team that have built it into such a high performing business.
"In the handling of Mr Farage’s case we have fallen below the bank’s high standards of personal service.
"As CEO of Coutts it is right that I bear ultimate responsibility for this, which is why I am stepping down.”
The Australian-born banker previously served as CEO of JPMorgan Private Wealth Management in Asia Pacific region.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Nigel FaragePAMohammad Kamal Syed will step into the role of interim CEO of Coutts and NatWest's wealth businesses.
Farage was quick to comment on Flavel's resignation on social media.
Writing on Twitter, the 59-year-old said: "It was only a matter of time before Peter Flavel, Coutts CEO, stood down.
"The ultimate responsibility for the dossier de-banking me for my political views lies with him.
Dame Alison RosePA"I even wrote to Mr Flavel twice before going public and didn’t receive an acknowledgment."
The GB News presenter will give his first broadcast reaction to this latest development at 7pm on his show 'Farage'.
Dame Alison resigned in the early hours of Wednesday morning after she admitted to leaking information about Farage's banking information to the BBC.
The former MEP welcomed her departure but called for a clear out of NatWest's board.
Nigel Farage has made headlines after his public fallout with NatWests's private bank CouttsPAFarage also exposed how Coutts staff were concerned about what it described as the former Ukip leader's "xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views" before the double resignation.
NatWest is now facing an investigation into whether it broke data protection laws over the debacle.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) yesterday said Farage’s trust had been “betrayed” by the bank.
John Edwards, the information commissioner, said on Wednesday: “The banking duty of confidentiality is over a hundred years old, and it is clear that it would not permit the discussion of a customer’s personal information with the media.
Farage’s account with Coutts had been closed earlier this month after the bank said they no longer wanted him as a customerGB News“We trust banks with our money and with our personal information.
“Any suggestion that this trust has been betrayed will be concerning for a bank’s customers, and for regulators like myself.”
NatWest chairman Sir Howard Davies and the rest of the bank’s board is now under increasing pressure to join Dame Alison and Flavel out of the door.
The ICO is more likely to slap NatWest with a civil penalty rather than bring criminal prosecutions, sources have told The Telegraph.
The bank has already been dealt a major financial blow from the scandal, with £850million being wiped from NatWest’s value.