Comment by MonkeyClub
1 year ago
The Farage situation hardly applies as an example, if at all.
From the linked Wikipedia page:
> NatWest, the owner of Coutts, initially claimed that he failed to meet the Coutts eligibility criteria of holding £1,000,000 or more in his account, following the expiry of his mortgage. NatWest instead offered him an account with the retail side of the bank.
So it's hardly a case of debanking a random Joe. It was only a higher-end account that was closed for not keeping the requirements for keeping it, and Farage was offered a normal account.
Oops, you "forgot" the rest of the quote:
"After Farage went to the press about the closure, it was discovered that Coutts had closed Farage's account as they deemed him to be "at best seen as xenophobic and pandering to racists". Following media attention, the NatWest CEO, Dame Alison Rose, resigned."
And of course, debanking is not used against any "random Joe", it is a weapon to make sure the random Joe stays nothing more than a random Joe and does not express his opinions or reaches for any political influence not sanctioned by the bankers.
From the same Wikipedia article:
> It was later revealed that Farage's account was closed in part as Coutts felt that his beliefs and values did not align with theirs. In an internal dossier, Coutts wrote that he "is at best seen as xenophobic and pandering to racists" and considered a "disingenuous grifter".
> initially claimed