Bank bosses lectured

MINISTERS have urged banks to learn from the mistakes of NatWest, in the wake of chief executive Dame Alison Rose’s resignation in a row over the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts account.

The former Ukip leader went on to demand the resignation of the entire NatWest board and for a “cultural change” within the industry at large, after his campaign resulted in the departure of NatWest’s top banker.

NatWest Group chairman Sir Howard Davies said yesterday that Dame Alison would be stepping down, after both Downing Street and the Treasury expressed their “serious concerns” about her conduct.

Dame Alison had admitted a “serious error of judgement” by discussing with a BBC journalist Mr Farage’s relationship with Coutts, owned by NatWest Group.