It has been a few weeks since Nigel Farange announced that Coutts, a private bank in the United Kingdom, closed his longstanding accounts for political reasons. Mr. Farange is a conservative and was a leader in the Brexit movement in the UK, earning him a number of political enemies. In fact, many of his political opponents celebrated the fact that Mr. Farange had not only lost his bank accounts, but that no other banks were willing to open up an account for him.
Initially, Coutts responded that Mr. Farange’s balances were insufficient and that he was offered the opportunity to move his accounts to a different financial institution. However, that turned out to be untrue, and, in fact, it appeared that Coutts made a concerted effort over time to smear Mr. Farange, initially attempting to tie him to Russia (God forbid!), but settling on describing him as a “disingenuous grifter” known for being “xenophobic and racist.” Other bank documents state that “[h]is publicly-stated views [a]re at odds with our position as an inclusive organization.” Other Coutts documents state that his “remarks are distasteful & appear increasingly out of touch with wider society.”
Now, Coutts has officially apologized to Mr. Farange as the political fallout continues. This “inclusive” bank that exclusively serves only the richest and most famous was bailed out by the UK government in 2008, and the government remains its largest shareholder. Dame Alison Rose, the bank’s chief executive, issued an apology to Mr. Farange after the investigation showed that Coutts sought to “de-bank” him exclusively for his political views and opinions, as the previous paragraph, which are only some of the excerpts, clearly show.