NatWest chair Sir Howard Davies says he won’t quit over Farage row

Sir Howard Davies, the chair of NatWest, has said he will not quit after initially backing former boss Dame Alison Rose in the Nigel Farage banking scandal. 

Sir Howard said on Friday he would continue at the bank to ensure “stability” after the resignations of Dame Alison and boss of Coutts. 

NatWest is 39% owned by the taxpayer. 

Sir Howard said: “We do have the support of our main shareholder.”

Following Dame Alison’s resignation, Peter Flavel, the chief executive of Coutts, a subsidiary of NatWest where Mr Farage held his account, also quit.

Coutts had closed Farage’s account due to his political beliefs. 

Hours before Dame Alison resigned over the closure of Mr Farage’s account, Sir Howard said the board retained “full confidence” in her.

But on Friday, he said: “The political reaction to that was such… her position was then untenable.”