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19th September 2023
01:55pm BST
Nigel Farage has been left with egg on his face after the Financial Conduct Authority was unable to uncover any evidence of politicians being debanked because of their views.
The former UKIP leader threw his toys out of the pram after he was ungraciously booted out of the prestigious Coutts Bank because of displaying views that "did not align" with the lender.
The row sparked complaints from other politicians about their treatment by lenders, prompting the government to order a review by the FCA.
But according to reports in the Financial Times, the financial regulator was unable to find any cases of political views being the “primary” reason for personal account closures across the 34 banks and payment companies that were asked to submit data to the regulator.
The data examined by the FCA covers the period from June 2022 to June 2023.
Reacting to the news, Farage told the FT: “This is farcical. There are plenty of examples of prominent Brexiteers being debanked. The FCA are part of the problem.”
The FCA is aware the data used in its review was compiled quickly and that not all banks have good systems for monitoring and recording why accounts are closed or refused, said two people briefed on its work.
They added that the regulator would carry out further work to ensure that banks and payment companies are not unfairly denying access to services.
Farage, meanwhile, is left to lick his latest self-inflicted wounds.
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