Ex-NatWest Chief Will Get £2.4m Payout After Resigning Over Farage Row

File photo of Dame Alison Rose, dated Feb. 14, 2020. (Nicholas T. Ansell/PA Media)

Ex-NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose will receive a £2.4 million severance package following her resignation over the handling of the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account.

Dame Alison stepped down as NatWest’s chief executive in July and is currently serving her 12-month notice period, as stipulated in her employment contract. Her severance package, according to the bank, includes £1.155 million in salary for the year, £1.155 million in NatWest shares, and £115,566 in pension payments.

Dame Alison’s resignation from NatWest came after bank accounts of broadcaster and former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, with the private bank Coutts were closed in June. Coutts forms part of NatWest Group’s wealth management division.

Mr. Farage then complained to the BBC about its article that claimed his accounts were closed for commercial reasons.

Dame Alison met with the BBC author of the article on the eve before it was published, having discussed Mr. Farage’s accounts, which constitutes a personal financial revelation.

She later admitted it was a “serious error of judgment” on her part to discuss Mr. Farage Coutts’s accounts with a BBC journalist.

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Totalling £2.4 million, Dame Alison’s payout has stirred critical reaction from Mr. Farage. He called the payout a “sick joke” and blamed the “corrupt British establishment” for looking after its own.

On the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, Mr. Farage posted a video message, in which he said:

“Surely, you cannot breach client confidentiality, you can’t break virtually every important rule in the FCA codebook and then you can’t lie about it after you brief the BBC and still receive £2.4 million payout. And yet that’s exactly what happened to Alison Rose.”

Mr. Farage said that Dame Alison’s payout represented the “corrupt British establishment at its very worst.”

“Any employee of NatWest that had done what she'd done would have been out the door, fired, and would not even have received their month’s money,” he argued.

Following Dame Alison’s resignation, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he had “significant concerns” about how NatWest’s chief executive handled the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank accounts.

Investigation

NatWest confirmed that the sum of Dame Alison’s severance package will be subject to review and will take into account internal and external reviews relating to the account closure arrangements at Coutts.

NatWest, which is 38 percent owned by the taxpayer, announced on July 28 that it will conduct independent reviews and the findings will be made public.

The bank appointed the law firm Travers Smith LLP to conduct a review, which will investigate how Mr. Farage’s account was identified for closure and consider whether any briefings with the media (including the BBC) took place during the relevant times.

In his video message, Mr. Farage said that the “so-called inquiry into what she [Dame Alison] did has been kicked into the long grass.” The chairman of the NatWest group Sor Howard Davies “seems happy about that,” Mr. Farage added.

However, NatWest has announced that its investigation is ongoing and results are expected to be published by the end of October 2023.

The review will also consider whether the bank will offer Mr. Farage alternative NatWest Group banking facilities.

In her resignation statement, Dame Alison Rose said she was “proud” of the progress NatWest made in supporting people and businesses across the country.

Sir Howard called it a “sad moment” and said she will “leave many colleagues who respect and admire her.”

NatWest appointed Paul Thwaite to take over Dame Alison’s role for an initial period of 12 months.

Mr. Thwaite is due to receive about £1.1 million in fixed salary and a fixed share allowance of about £1.1 million of NatWest Group shares.

A decision on Dame Alison’s permanent successor will take place in due course, said the bank.