More than a million bank accounts have been shut since 2019 – and the rate of closures is accelerating, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Figures obtained under a Freedom of Information request show that banks are on track to smash the previous record of 343,500 accounts closed last year.
The alarming news comes amid the continuing fall-out from the Nigel Farage affair.
NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose was forced to quit her job last month over the closure of the former Ukip leader’s account at Coutts – the lender’s private banking arm – partly because of his political views.
Banks can shut accounts with as little as 14 days’ notice if they suspect it is being used to launder money, which would leave innocent customers financially stranded.
The Government plans to introduce new rules to give customers up to 90 days to challenge closures.
Banks will also have to explain why accounts have been closed. But campaigners and victims claim this is unfair to the thousands of innocent customers who have been debanked despite doing nothing wrong.
