The British government is reportedly set to announce measures that could see banks stripped of their licenses if they decide to turn away customers because of their political views.
A July 20 report of The Times said the UK government is considering stricter conditions on banking licenses that would try to protect free speech. A final decision is yet to be made, but the UK Treasury is expected to announce the new rules as early as next week.
The new provisions would reportedly require banks to give customers three months’ notice before closing their accounts. In addition, banks will have to provide an explicit reason for closing accounts and customers will be granted the right of appeal.
The move follows a row between former Tory politician Nigel Frarage and British private bank Coutts, which has members of the British royal family as clients.
Coutts closed Farage’s bank accounts earlier this month, saying his account had fallen below its threshold, but leaked documents later revealed it was because his Tory views did not “align with [their] values.”
The documents obtained by Farage and shared by the Daily Mail, detailed the minutes of a meeting with Coutts about his accounts.
At the meeting, Coutts officials branded Farage a “bogus fraudster” and cited the “reputational risk” associated with his political views as reasons for closing his accounts.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “wrong”. He added that “no one should be banned from using basic services for their political views. Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of our democracy.”
This is wrong.
No one should be banned from using basic services for their political views.
Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of our democracy. https://t.co/8S8Rzyh9Si
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 19, 2023
Similarly, Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused Coutts of being the victim of “politically biased dogma”.
Related: UK Banks Reject Crypto Customers: Report
Alison Rose, the CEO of Coutts’ parent company NatWest Group, has since issued an apology for the “grossly inappropriate” comments made about Farage during the meeting and has agreed to reopen his account.
“It is absolutely not our policy to walk away from a client based on political and personal legal viewpoints,” the apology letter read.
Farage, a former leader of populist political parties Reform UK and UK Independence Party (UKIP), is a vocal supporter of cryptocurrencies. On 3 December 2020, Farage praised Bitcoin (BTC) as the “ultimate anti-lockdown investment” and derided the British pound as the government’s “funny money”.
Farage made an appearance at the 2022 Bitcoin Amsterdam Conference. In an interview with Cointelegraph, he praised Bitcoin for its anti-inflationary qualities and immutability compared to traditional banking infrastructure.
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