Following the NatWest and Nigel Farage scandal , banks are still coming under increased scrutiny . The Treasury wrote to the ombudsman in September asking it to provide the complaints data , showing a monthly rate of more than 268 complaints per month , made up of 1,351 ‘ general ’ closure cases and 262 ‘ restricted ’ accounts . This month , our Editor ’ s Question explores how banks are leveraging technology to handle the complexities associated with ‘ politically exposed persons ’ ( PEPs ), including minimising risks of bribery and corruption while ensuring the integrity of the financial sector .
The Financial Ombudsman ( FOS ) opened 1,613 new complaint cases about account closures between April and September , as a letter to the Treasury Committee on Monday highlighted a surge in complaints around bank account closures .
In 2022 , the monthly rate for the year was around 225 with a total of 2,708 complaints being made across the whole year , highlighting an increase as the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) investigates whether banks are systemically ‘ debanking ’ customers for their political views .
The probe was triggered by Brexiteer and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage after his account was closed by NatWest-run Coutts , partly due to his political views and while no signs of systemic ‘ debanking ’ of political figures were uncovered , the recent inquest into complaint data highlights that investigations into banks are not over .
Wayne Johnson , CEO and Co-founder of Encompass Corporation , commented : “ As these latest figures show , the issue of debanking has not been forgotten
HOW ARE BANKS LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TO HANDLE THE COMPLEXITIES OF ‘ POLITICALLY EXPOSED PERSONS ’?
– far from it , in fact , with banks continuing to face scrutiny . Now , more than ever , institutions must ensure that the treatment of their customers is consistent and fair and be able to prove it at any given time . This only increases the importance of implementing technology-driven processes , which allow banks to act based on verifiable facts , presented by live , authoritative publicly available data – and , crucially , evidence actions taken .
“ As banks grapple with the challenges of mitigating risk and keeping up with a fast-moving regulatory landscape , they must ramp up their processes in response .
“ Technology exists to establish a customer ’ s identity , providing real-time profiles , generated on demand , to validate and verify a company with full transparency . By leveraging this approach , banks can not only evidence compliance and preserve reputation with a robust , effective Know Your Customer ( KYC ) process , but also maximise business efficiency .”
As these latest figures show , the issue of debanking has not been forgotten – far from it , in fact , with banks continuing to face scrutiny .
E D I T O R ’ S Q U E S T I O N
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