The prime minister, home secretary and City minister waded into the debate over the rights of lenders to shut or refuse accounts based on concerns over customers' political views.
Coutts, a private lender that caters for royals and the global super-rich, terminated its relationship with Farage this year. On Tuesday, the Brexit campaigner and former UK Independence Party party leader released internal documents obtained from the bank that stated it was concerned about his "xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views" and believed maintaining his accounts posed a risk to the bank's reputation.
The documents highlighted Farage's ties to controversial politicians such as Donald Trump and his views on issues including migration and Russia, stating they "are not in line with our views or our purpose".
The Financial Conduct Authority's chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, told MPS yesterday that the regulator had spoken to Coutts' parent company, NatWest Group, and that UK regulations inherited from the EU-barred banks from discriminating against customers based on protected characteristics such as race and sex.
Speaking at a hearing of the Treasury select committee, Rathi said: "You're not able to discriminate on the basis of political views, either."
However, the FCA's chairman, Ashley Alder, suggested lenders had some discretion: "For banks as well as other commercial enterprises, it's fundamentally up to them to choose who they do business with."
Ministers and Tory MPs piled in on the controversy, with Jacob ReesMogg pressing Rishi Sunak to open a public inquiry into the controversy during prime minister's questions.
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