This news service understands that a finance director has been recruited and is expected to start in September, pending regulatory clearance. The recruitment/announcement of the chief operating officer is expected to be made imminently. 

As Coutts seeks to rebuild its fortunes after the “de-banking” saga, this publication can confirm that the chief operating officer, James Clarry, and its chief finance officer, Andrew Kyle, have left the UK bank.

As reported, Peter Flavel left the post of CEO in late July, following revelations that Coutts, part of NatWest, had removed a bank account from ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage in controversial circumstances. (See here and here.)

WealthBriefing understands that a finance director has been recruited and is expected to start in September, pending regulatory clearance. The recruitment/announcement of the COO is expected to be made imminently. 

The banking and political world has been roiled by the drama, which started earlier in July. Farage complained that he had been “de-banked” by Coutts without much explanation. The former CEO of NatWest, Alison Rose – who later resigned – had discussed Farage's account with a BBC journalist, and a story was run saying he hadn’t sufficient wealth to any longer justify being a Coutts client, and had been offered an alternative NatWest account.

However, a 40-page report – sent to Farage who had requested it, and later published in the Daily Telegraph – revealed that his political views, such as on Brexit, LGBTQ and other issues, were factors in his removal from the account. Rose was criticised for crossing a line of confidentiality – for which she apologised. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned of threats to free speech. The UK government owns a 38.6 per cent stake in NatWest, stemming from when Royal Bank of Scotland was bailed out by taxpayers in the 2008 financial crash. (RBS was later re-named under the NatWest brand.)