Alison Rose should resign

The CEO of NatWest, Alison Rose, admits she was the source for the BBC story about Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank account which both NatWest and the BBC admit was misleading and for which they have apologised. She says it was a “serious error of judgment”.

Too right it was!

You do not have to like Nigel Farage or his politics to understand that for any bank to treat one of it's customers the way the NatWest group and Coutts have treated him is a most serious breach of trust.

It's not just about Farage. If the banks were to get away with treating him the way they have now admitted they treated him, they can do the same to anyone, indeed they are more likely to do this to more vulnerable people who have less ability to hit back than he has.

For the actual Chief Executive of the NatWest group to be involved in planting an inaccurate story about a customer - which incidentally would also amount to a breach of client confidentiality and quite possibly a breach of GDPR law - is completely out of order.

If she is not seen to pay a price for that, the less principled element which exists among bankers as in any other profession will be emboldened to think they can treat customers how they like and get away with it.

She should resign. 

POSTSCRIPT 26th July

I wrote the above last night. This morning it was announced that Alison Rose has indeed resigned.