Debanking scandal: Over a THOUSAND new investigations launched since Farage exposed misconduct
More than 1,000 new cases relating bank closures have been opened in the wake of the Nigel Farage debanking scandal
GB News
More than 1,000 new cases relating bank closures have been opened in the wake of the Nigel Farage debanking scandal.
The Financial Ombudsman has launched 1,613 investigations in the six months to the end of September - compared to 2,708 cases across the whole of 2022-23.
The new figures suggest complaints are on track to rise by a fifth to around 3,200 this financial year if the current trend continues.
A letter to the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) revealed the surging number of complaints are being upheld by the regulator following greater public scrutiny.
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The committee previously warned that small and medium-sized businesses has been closed without reason by high street lenders.
It follows the treatment of GB News' presenter Nigel Farage after his Coutts bank account was closed because his views did not “align” with the bank’s own values “as an inclusive organisation”.
The incident sparked concerns about widespread illegitimate account closures.
Harriett Baldwin, chairman of the cross-party TSC, said MPs were “concerned” about the jump in complaints.
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"These figures only reflect people who have actually approached the Financial Ombudsman following the closure, so it may not be a complete number," she told The Telegraph.
“Businesses are telling us themselves that they have been debanked, and it can often be very hard for them to find out why. So this is something that we are going to focus on.”
So far this year, the Ombudsman said 32 per cent of complaints have been upheld - this compared with 26 per cent in 2022-23.
Following a series of struggles by small and medium-sized enterprises accessing finance, MPs have launched an inquiry about the challenges.
Following a series of struggles by small and medium-sized enterprises accessing finance, MPs have launched an inquiry about the challenges
PATory MP Baldwin said that she understands why banks were being “cautious” amid a “shift in business tone” following a series of sanctions against countries like Russia.
Baldwin added: "It can be a real panic because you can’t operate a business without a bank account. So we are going to be looking at this very closely.
"Banks obviously need to play a vital role in preventing fraud in our economy, preventing money laundering and ensuring that sanctions are implemented correctly.
"But is there a grey area where they are being excessively risk averse and preventing perfectly legitimate UK small and medium sized businesses from having a bank account? And if they are, what is the right redress for those debanked businesses?"