Proactive Investors - NatWest Group PLC (LON:NWG)’s chief executive Alison Rose has resigned after admitting to a “serious error of judgment” in briefing a BBC journalist about the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account.
Howard Davies, chairman of NatWest, said the decision had been agreed “by mutual consent”.
“It is a sad moment. She has dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her,” he added.
Paul Thwaite, the current CEO of the Commercial and Institutional business, will take over from Rose for an initial 12 months before a successor is appointed.
Rose has been under mounting pressure since Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), produced evidence that NatWest’s private banking business Coutts had decided to close his account partly because his political views went against its values.
She admitted this week that she had given a BBC reporter the impression that Coutts took the decision for solely commercial reasons.
The broadcaster apologised to Farage on Tuesday for an inaccurate report about why his account was closed.
Rose was appointed as chief executive in 2019, having worked at the bank for more than 30 years.