Yorkshire Building Society says it would close accounts of customers who “discriminate” or are “rude”.
The organisation made the admission after claims that it severed ties with a client who questioned the use of Pride flags in their branches.
It comes amid a growing row over whether banks are targeting people for their political beliefs after Nigel Farage revealed his account was recently shuttered.
The former Brexit Party leader said he was then rejected by seven other banks when he approached them to become a customer.
The Yorkshire Building Society, which has three million customers, said that it does “not close savings accounts based on different opinions regarding beliefs”.
In a statement, it added: “We would only make the difficult decision to close a savings account if a customer is rude, abusive, violent or discriminates in any way, based on the specific facts and behaviour in each case”.
Mr Farage revealed on Thursday that a high-end banking group that he has used since 1980 told him recently that it is closing his account. While he did not name the institution, it has previously been reported that he had a mortgage with Coutts, which is owned by NatWest.
He added that several family members had also had their accounts closed after Chris Bryant, a Labour MP, “falsely” accused him of taking money from Russia.
The former Ukip leader said that the decision was proof that “we are living through the politicisation of our corporate sector”. He continued: “It should alarm everybody that a bank has the power to punish those it considers to have erred or strayed. If they are coming for me today, they can come for you tomorrow. If you were to post a political opinion on social media that did not conform to your bank’s ‘values’, you could find yourself in my position.”
If you have been involved in politics that are considered to be on the nationalist end of the spectrum there is every chance that you will have come across someone who has had their account closed or who knows someone who has. It has been common practice in the financial sector in the last few years and not just in the UK but in mainland Europe as well.
The loss of a bank account can have consequences for people that are difficult to manage and also for organisations who are not seen to be in line with the “values” of the banks that they do business with.
There needs to be action to stop what amounts to discrimination against people who hold views that these companies do not agree with. It should be enshrined in law that discrimination in not just banking but any commercial activity against people with more traditional views is illegal and has repercussion for the offenders.
That, of course, is probably a pipe dream and banks would more than likely find their way around any legislation.
Maybe the “nationalist/traditionalist” community needs to look within itself for a solution with the establishment of its own financial network. Though establishing such a network would of course be challenging, it would also provide not just security for people whose views the banks frown upon but also the chance to break the established banking models that don’t work for the vast majority of people.
