Farage bank account shut for falling below wealth limit

Nigel Farage fell below the financial threshold required to hold an account at Coutts, the prestigious private bank for the wealthy, the BBC has been told.

It is understood that he was subsequently offered a standard account at NatWest which owns Coutts.

Last week, Mr Farage said he believed his account had been shut for political reasons and he was turned down by seven other lenders when he went elsewhere.

But people familiar with Coutts' move said it was a "commercial" decision.

"The criteria for holding a Coutts account are clear from the bank's website," they told the BBC.

Coutts requires its customers to borrow or invest at least £1m with the bank or hold £3m in savings.

The bank declined to comment on Mr Farage's account.

The former leader of the UK Independence Party and Brexiteer recently posted a six-minute video on Twitter blaming "serious political persecution" from an anti-Brexit banking industry.

He said that losing his bank account was the equivalent of being a "non-person" and that the decision may "fundamentally affect my future career and whether I can even go on staying living here in this country".

Speaking to the BBC from France, Mr Farage did not dispute the fact that he did not meet Coutts' threshold, but added: "They didn't have a problem with it for the last 10 years."

He also disputed the fact that he was offered a NatWest account at the time his Coutts accounts were withdrawn. He says the offer of a NatWest account came late last week.

The BBC understands that the offer of a NatWest account still stands.

Mr Farage says that he has tried to open an account with a number of other banks but claims he was rejected on the grounds that he is a "Politically Exposed Person" (PEP).

A PEP generally presents a higher risk for financial institutions as regulators consider them to be more exposed to the risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and the influence they may hold.

People familiar with NatWest's thinking insisted that this is not the reason for the closure of his Coutts account. Mr Farage told the BBC: "Are you telling me that all the other banks say it was a PEP thing and Coutts wasn't - draw your own conclusions."

Mr Farage also said that his business account was closed despite the fact that last year he had what he described as "large significant positive cash balances" going through his business account.

Coutts do not offer business banking services to customers who are not also private customers.