Having thought about this it appears to me that people here, as it seems do the media and indeed the government are getting confused over what causes something and what is the reason for it?

Although often used interchangeably there is actually an important difference so this isn’t just semantics.

Cause is the direct effect, whilst the reason is the more nuanced motivation that lies behind it.

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If he was regarded as a threat to their reputation last month then why isn't he now?

Wisbech

That’s a ridiculous line to tread. Closing the accounts of Farage and Corbyn because you take issue with their politics. Thanks goodness you don’t run a bank you would cause chaos, uncertainty and division.

And that response is to reinstate his account. At least he can boost his balance with the compensation they'll be paying him.

They wouldn't though be closed because of their politics. Have you not been following the thread to understand why?

Both are PEPs with controversial views, albeit very different. Banks are obliged to pay special attention to such people because of the risk of them being compromised by corruption. That costs a lot of time and effort, which means they don't earn money from them, unless they hold mega bucks. Alongside that is the risk to their reputation for offering service to a controversial character. It's not the bank taking issue with anyone's politics. It's them protecting their bottom line.

I have never disputed their right to set their own risk policies. The question is, how effective are they ? Are they truly fit for purpose ?

In this instance, what was the associated risk - again reputational - with closing Farage's account ? I'd say it was as high as it's been proven to be. The pragmatic approach would have been to acknowledge and accept the risk of having Farage as a client gffv v internally without taking any further action. It looks like Coutts blindly followed their newly Woke direction without considering the potential consequences.

And I know that you do not buy into the ' opinion ' bit, but someone in Coutts, almost certainly Farage's RM, was of the opinion that Farage represented a risk. Almost certainly as a result of ongoing due diligence through ' adverse media ' reports. I very much doubt if this was a unanimous view as in my experience there are usually various opinions put forward when classifying risks and the subsequent actions to be taken.

I'd be interested in hearing views from Badger and HK Owen on this as I believe their experience closely matches mine.

Edited by NEILLO (01 Aug 2023 3.39pm)