Dame Alison Rose’s just rewards

Dame Alison Rose has paid a high price for her role in the Nigel Farage debanking scandal. She resigned as chief executive of NatWest after it was revealed that she had discussed the closure of Mr Farage’s Coutts account with a journalist. The bank’s board has now determined that she is not entitled to “good leaver” status, and will therefore forfeit a total of £4.7 million in unvested share awards and £2.8 million in variable pay awards. 

This is surely the right outcome. The reputation of NatWest took a serious hit under Dame Alison, and it could well take a long time for it to regain the public’s trust. There is also too often a tendency in public life for people to be rewarded for their failures. Although she is still likely to receive a significant payout by any normal standard, it is good to see a senior figure actually having to face the consequences of their actions.

However, the question remains whether the bank has learnt the right lessons from this fiasco. Can customers really have confidence that they, too, will not be debanked because of their political opinions? Has there been sufficient cultural change within NatWest and Coutts, whose employees were revealed to be hostile to some conservative opinions? Are customers’ interests being placed ahead of much less relevant considerations such as the bank’s role in fighting climate change?

The taxpayer owns a substantial stake in NatWest. It is entitled to expect that the bank is focused on serving customers, boosting profitability and reviving the share price.