The Financial Conduct Authority has uncovered no evidence of politicians being debanked because of their views, the Financial Times has revealed.
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage led a campaign against the UK banking sector after his Coutts account was closed because his views “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 the financial regulator has found no 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.
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