By Najat Kantouar

NatWest Group said that an independent review into its closures procedure confirmed that its decision-making was consistent with relevant standards, and that there was no evidence of discrimination due to political views or any other protected characteristic.

The British lender said Friday that phase 2 of the Travers Smith report identified several areas where Coutts's policies and procedures governing exit decisions could be improved, and that it has accepted and will implement all the recommendations contained in phases 1 and 2 of the review.

In July, former politician Nigel Farage said he was dropped as a client of Coutts, a private bank owned by NatWest, because of his political views.

Travers Smith was commissioned by the board in July relating to account closures at Coutts over the 24-month period prior to July 28, 2023.

"We recognized the need to improve our customer account closure processes and those improvements are already well under way. Although Travers Smith confirm that, in general, decisions were appropriate and that there was no evidence of discrimination, it is clear there are lessons to be learned," Chief Executive of Coutts Mohammad Syed said.

Shares at 0925 GMT were up 0.27% at 8797.88.

Write to Najat Kantouar at najat.kantouar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 15, 2023 04:58 ET (09:58 GMT)

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