NatWest Group Plc said the head of its Coutts subsidiary is stepping down, the latest senior figure to leave the bank as it tries to address the scandal around account closures.
Peter Flavel, who has led the upmarket banking brand since March 2016, will depart with immediate effect, the bank said in a statement. He will be replaced by Mohammad Kamal Syed on an interim basis.
His abrupt exit comes after Chief Executive Officer Alison Rose quit over a growing row about a decision to close the accounts of politician-turned-pundit Nigel Farage. Coutts staff discussed Farage’s reputation as “xenophobic and racist” and a “grifter” when deciding to sever ties, according to internal documents that Farage later made public.
“In the handling of Mr Farage’s case we have fallen below the bank’s high standards of personal service,” Flavel said in the statement. “As CEO of Coutts it is right that I bear ultimate responsibility for this, which is why I am stepping down.”
