Dame Alison resigns from the bank after being pressured to leave by the government – Nicolas.T.Ansel/PA
NatWest’s plan to hand over a £2.4 million payment to Dame Alison Rose has been branded a “sick joke” by Nigel Farage.
The banking giant said on Wednesday its former chief executive was in line to receive £1.2m in pay for the year, as well as £1.2m in shares over a five-year period and £115,566 in pension payments.
The pay deal totaled £2.43 million, although NatWest said it reserved the right to withhold payment based on an ongoing investigation.
Dame Alison is currently serving her 12-month notice period after resigning last month.
In a video posted on Twitter, Mr Faraz said: “When I heard about it I thought maybe it was a cheap joke.
“Certainly you can’t break customer confidentiality, certainly you can’t breach almost every important rule in the FCA codebook, and you can’t lie about it even after giving information to the BBC and then could get paid £2.43m, and yet that is exactly what happened to Alison Rose.”
Dame Alison was forced to step down after admitting she falsely told a BBC journalist that Mr Farage’s bank account at Coutts, a subsidiary of NatWest, had been frozen because he was unable to meet its limits. Wasn’t rich enough for
Instead, it emerged the bank had a 40-page dossier on Mr Faraj’s political views, detailing “significant reputational risks associated with him”.
The documents said Mr Faraz’s views were “contrary to our position as an inclusive organisation”.
NatWest’s board initially tried to defend Dame Alison. However, he resigned from the bank after the government put pressure on him to leave.
NatWest, which is 38.6 per cent owned by taxpayers, is facing pressure not to reward its former chief executive.
Conservative MP Harriet Baldwin, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, said the bank should consider using clawback rules to reduce payments to Ms Rose and Coutts’ former chief executive, Peter Flavell, who has been asked to resign. was forced to.
“I think once the external inquiry is complete, the Remuneration Committee of the Board would like to look closely at this for the two departed CEOs as some part of the compensation remains to be returned,” he added.
The planned pay deal was also criticized by other senior Tories.
Former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “People who have been fired for gross misconduct are not entitled to pay”.
Former Tory chairman Jake Berry also said it was a “disgraceful award” for failure.
NatWest said it would continue to review Dame Alison’s payments amid an ongoing investigation into the scandal.
Mr Faraz, however, accused the bank of “hanging on” the probe for too long.
Dame Alison, who joined the bank as a graduate trainee in 1992, was chief executive for four years before stepping down on 25 July.
In a statement, NatWest said: “Ms Rose’s notice period and the payment she will receive for the notice period will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, taking into account internal and external investigations relating to the account closure arrangements at Coutts and related Happened. events.
“A decision on these awards, along with any decision regarding other remuneration matters, will be made taking into account the findings of the inquiry.”
