NatWest to be quizzed over breaking privacy rules after Coutts debacle

NatWest may have broken confidentiality rules when former chief executive Dame Alison Rose shared information about Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank account with the BBC, the privacy regulator has said.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is examining whether the actions of the ex-boss of the lender, who dramatically quit, would ‘constitute a serious data breach’ or ‘disregard client confidentiality’.

The ICO said: ‘We can confirm we have received a complaint and are currently assessing the information provided and making necessary enquiries. We are aware of Dame Alison Rose’s statement and will consider it as part of our enquiries.’

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is examining whether the actions of former NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose would ‘constitute a serious data breach’

Information commissioner John Edwards added: ‘The banking duty of confidentiality is over 100 years old and it is clear that it would not permit the discussion of a customer’s personal information with the media.

‘We trust banks with our money and with our personal information. Any suggestion that this trust has been betrayed will be concerning for a bank’s customers and for regulators like myself.’

The Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates the City, has also raised concerns with NatWest about a potential ‘breach of customer confidentiality’.

The comments came as bank bosses admitted trust in the industry has been hit by the Coutts debacle.

At a meeting with Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith, industry leaders ‘acknowledged that recent events had impacted upon public trust for the whole sector’. They pledged to ‘act quickly to restore confidence’.

NatWest chairman Howard Davies and its interim chief executive Paul Thwaite did not attend the meeting, instead sending retail chief David Lindberg.

Others in attendance included HSBC UK chief Ian Stuart, Santander’s UK boss Mike Regnier and Matt Hammerstein, who runs Barclays in the UK, as well as Nationwide chief executive Debbie Crosby and Lloyds managing director Philip Robinson. Experts warned the sector is likely to face political and regulatory consequences.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: ‘Banks are trusted with our hard-earned cash and relied upon to fund a myriad of purchases from buying a house to business expansion which delivers jobs and prosperity.

‘With that in mind it now seems absurd that the board of NatWest had considered that Alison Rose could ride out this storm.

‘NatWest is no ordinary bank; it is still almost 40 per cent-owned by the UK taxpayer, and the political and regulatory ramifications of this episode are likely to ripple out for months to come.’