Former NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose is to lose £7.6m of her potential payoff as the taxpayer-backed lender seeks to draw a line under the debanking row sparked by the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts accounts.
Confirming Sky News’ revelations on Friday morning, NatWest said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange that Dame Alison would still receive payments totalling in the region of £3.2m prior to the end of her 12-month notice period.
Dame Alison stepped down in late July after admitting she had discussed the former UKIP leader’s banking arrangements with a BBC journalist.
This week, the Information Commissioner’s Office was forced to make a grovelling apology to Dame Alison after it claimed she had broken privacy laws – which prompted a furious response from Mr Farage.
It emerged following a subject access request by Mr Farage that NatWest employees had belittled the broadcaster and former politician, making a stream of pejorative comments about his views and finances.
Last month, the bank apologised to Mr Farage, acknowledging that it had been guilty of “serious failings” in the way it had treated him.
The decision to “debank” Mr Farage sparked a firestorm in Westminster and forced the City watchdog into an urgent review of the practice across Britain’s banking sector.
NatWest will hope deal closes ignominious chapter Mark Kleinman @MarkKleinmanSky£7.6m is a lot of money to leave on the table by anyone’s standards.
NatWest Group, the taxpayer-backed bank, hopes that headline-grabbing number will persuade stakeholders that it has taken a tough line on the severance package handed to Dame Alison Rose, its former chief executive.
Indeed, Dame Alison herself might claim that she herself has been “debanked” out of a multimillion pound payoff.
After months of negotiations between the first woman to run one of Britain’s big four banks and a board, which until hours before her exit had steadfastly supported her, a compromise of sorts has been reached.
Under the deal announced on Friday – which confirmed an exclusive Sky News report – Dame Alison will receive just under £1.75m between now and the end of her 12-month notice period.
That will add to roughly £650,000 she has already received since she left “by mutual agreement” on a dramatic night in July, and a share award that could be worth in the region of £800,000 that will vest next March (during her notice period).
£3.2m, to most people, is still an awful lot of money, so it’s unlikely that anyone – whether or not their surname is Farage – will be spilling copious tears for Dame Alison today.
Consider, though, that her career in UK financial services is all but over after her summer transgression, when she inaccurately briefed a BBC journalist about Mr Farage’s banking arrangements with Coutts, a NatWest subsidiary.
Her career may now need to focus on roles which do not require the consent of City or banking regulators, with some friends suggesting she is likely to consider a move overseas.
Led by chairman Sir Howard Davies, NatWest’s board will hope this announcement ends what even by its standards has been an ignominious chapter in its recent history.
That may yet prove to be wishful thinking.
In its statement on Friday, NatWest said Dame Alison would forfeit unvested share awards worth £4.7m at Thursday’s closing share price.
She would also relinquish variable pay for her work in 2023 which could have been worth up to £2.9m, meaning the overall pay award she will forego amounts to £7.6m.
AdvertisementNatWest said its former boss would receive £1.75m in base salary, fixed share award and pension entitlements between now and next July, adding to around £650,000 she has received since her exit.
0:32 NatWest payout would have been ‘outrageous’In addition to that £2.4m, a share award which is worth at NatWest’s current stock price around £800,000 will vest during Dame Alison’s notice period next spring.
The bank said “no finding of misconduct” had been made against Dame Alison.
Responding, Dame Alison said: “I am pleased that NatWest Group has confirmed that no findings of misconduct have been made against me.”
“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.”