De-banking

Following the Nigel Farage Coutts bank scandal, in which Coutts & Co. removed Nigel Farage as a client, the British government has begun an investigation of de-banking practices within the UK banking industry.[3] The Financial Conduct Authority reported that the UK banks were closing nearly a thousand of accounts daily, with just over 343,000 closed in 2022, compared to about 45,000 in 2017.[4]

In September 2023, the FCA announced that it had found that banks had not been closing customers' accounts for political reasons. There had been four accounts that the FCA investigated for potentially having been closed for political reasons but it found that the reason had actually been for the way the individuals had acted towards the staff of the respective banks. Nigel Farage dubbed the outcome 'farcical'.[5]

Accusations of disproportionate de-banking of British Muslims have also resulted in calls for political scrutiny.[6] British Nigerian community has been reportedly affected as well.[7] Poole-born Alexandra Tolstoy suspected that her account might have been closed by NatWest due to her Russian name.[8][9] Baz Melia MBE accused NatWest of destroying his business by closing his and his family's accounts, which he suspected had happened because of a connection with a Saudi-based business partner.[10] Examples of companies being de-banked for trading with Ukraine were reported by British Ukrainian business groups.[11]

Multiple instances of U.S. and Canadian banks reportedly dropping Muslim clients on questionable grounds have been covered in the media.[12] In response to the Canada convoy protest of 2022, at least 76 bank accounts linked to the protests totaling CA$3.2 million were frozen under the Emergencies Act.

• Know your customer
• Unbanked
• Underbanked

• Durdner, Tracey; Shetret, Liat (November 2015). "Understanding Bank De-Risking and Its Effects on Financial Inclusion" (PDF). Global Center on Cooperative Security. Oxfam.