London will act against banks that close their accounts for ideological reasons

Can you imagine that bank Close the current account Fearing that their ideology will harm the reputation of the entity? Nigel Farageone of the most active faces in favor of a Hard Brexit And the former MEP, announced last week that BAnko had canceled his accounts (personal and business ones), without giving him explanations, after it was reported that the former politician had received £548,573 (€637,790) from RT, the Russian media organ.

More examples have emerged. A priest from the Anglican Church denounced that his entity closed his account after he sent him a written complaint about his position during the… Pride month.

In both cases and apparently, the reasons will not be related to financial matters, but will belong to controversial orbits As a fairly vocal sympathizer with Russia and opposition to the so-called gender ideology. In 2022, the Financial Ombudsman Service – Ombudsman on a financial scale was received 376 complaints of closed accountsnearly double that in 2020.

The entities involved are Coatesa subsidiary of natwistin the case of the founder of UKIP, the UK Independence Party, while the clergyman is Yorkshire Building Society (YBS). In fact, there is a private Facebook group, with 9,400 members, with the candid name “NatWest closed my bank account.”

Farage himself, who hired a law firm to overturn his bank’s previous decision, explained that after the first knock-down, he tried to open accounts at seven other banks and In all of them he received a negative answer.

The situation, which may sound a bit like an anecdote, has gone from being a case to a category and the same UK government announced today that it would take Measures aimed at respecting freedom of expression of bank customers.

freedom of expression

“he worry absolute. No one should watch his account being rejected on the grounds of freedom of speech. “We are hopeful that action will be taken in the coming weeks,” Treasury sources told the media.

first Minister , Rishi SunakShe has expressed “concern about some of the information published” because “freedom of speech, within the law, is an important part of British freedom”, according to a spokesperson.

Current legislation in the United Kingdom requires banks to have a minimum of Thirty days before closing the customer’s accountAlthough the time frame may be shortened under “exceptional circumstances”, including suspected fraud or threats.

expression and risk

“The Treasury Department is investigating to see if these issues conflict with the balance between Customer’s right To express themselves freely and Bank right To manage their commercial risks,” they indicated from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as they consider that even a person with extremist views should have the right to work with a bank account, as long as he does not violate the law.

UK financingthe organization that brings together English banks, confirmed today that it does not comment on specific cases and recalled the circumstances under which ” You can close an account The current “includes” breach of the Terms and Conditions [del contrato]; abuses, threats, or suspicious activities in the account.” The entity emphasized that the decision to close the account is made only “after a comprehensive analysis.”