NatWest strips £7.6m from payout to ex-boss Alison Rose after Farage row

The banking giant said she has not been considered a ‘good leaver’ following her departure.

The first woman to run one of Britain’s biggest high street banks has been given a damehood in the New Year Honours list (NatWest/ PA)

NatWest has scrapped about £7.6 million in potential payouts to former boss Dame Alison Rose after she left the company in July following the fallout from the debanking row with Nigel Farage.

The banking giant said she has not been considered a “good leaver” following her departure and will therefore not receive most of the discretionary parts of her pay package.

The former boss will nevertheless get £2.4 million for 12 months’ worth of pay and benefits plus around £800,000 for former bonus shares due to vest in March next year.

Dame Alison could have been eligible for a further £4.7 million worth of shares and almost £2.9 billion in variable pay awards.

NatWest stressed that there was “no finding of misconduct” against the former boss.

Dame Alison said that she had accepted the decision of the NatWest board, and said she was “pleased” that the bank had cleared her of misconduct.

“I am pleased that NatWest Group has confirmed that no findings of misconduct have been made against me,” she said.

“I can also confirm acceptance of the terms of the settlement agreement, which is in line with NatWest Group’s remuneration policy, bringing the matter to a close.”

Mr Farage said the move by NatWest to cancel the bulk of her potential payout was “correct”.

“It is right for the taxpayers and nobody should be rewarded for failure,” he said in a video published on X, formerly Twitter.

The announcement comes a little under four months since Dame Alison stepped down as chief executive of the bank, which also owns Coutts.

Her departure came after she said that she had spoken to a BBC journalist about former Ukip leader Nigel Farage’s relationship with Coutts.

Mr Farage revealed in June that Coutts was planning to close his account.

He claimed it was due to his political opinions. But days later an article appeared in the BBC citing sources claiming that the account was closed for commercial reasons.

Weeks later, Dame Alison was forced to admit that she was the source for the BBC article.

Last month, an independent review found NatWest Group’s decision to shut down Mr Farage’s Coutts account showed “serious failings” in its treatment of the politician.

Law firm Travers Smith found failures in how the bank treated confidential information and how it communicated with Mr Farage.

Findings from the second part of the review, focusing on Coutts’ historical exit policy for customers, are due by the end of the year.

The bank, which is still partly owned by the taxpayer, said it will pay a maximum of £395,000 plus tax towards Dame Alison’s legal fees following a settlement.