Former minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg is pushing for a new law that will make it more difficult for banks to shut down people’s accounts.
Mr. Rees-Mogg, a Conservative MP and GB News presenter, told The Telegraph that while banks have the right to block accounts, “they are doing this in far too many cases.”
With the declining of cash, an individual without a bank account is effectively a “non-citizen” or a “non-person,” he said.
According to the report, Mr. Rees-Mogg will propose an amendment to the Digital Markets Bill, that aims to stop banks from discriminating against clients.
The amendment would also compel banks to inform customers why their accounts would be closed within 30 days of their decision and give customers the right to demand compensation, the report said.
Nigel Farage Denied Accounts By 9 Banks
Mr. Rees-Mogg’s proposal comes as his colleague at GB News, former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, said he couldn’t find a bank that’s willing to hold his account in the UK.Mr. Farage also speculated that Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant’s assertion in Parliament that Mr. Farage had “received £548,573 from Russia Today in 2018” may have contributed to the banks’ unwillingness to give him an account.
It’s unclear whether banks are denying Mr. Farage access to an account over PEP concerns, politicians with all parties have complained about running into difficulty with banks.
PEPs rules are international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force. They were adopted by the European Union in the form of directives, which were then incorporated into British law through secondary legislation.
The anti-money-laundering rules require financial institutions to carry out extra checks on PEPs.
Other De-Banking
There have been others who suspected their accounts may have been closed over their political views, although banks have denied the allegations.In one of the most recent cases, Metro Bank emailed gender-critical parents group Our Duty, saying the bank couldn’t offer an account because it “doesn’t currently allow organisations to receive donations if not a registered charity, and for community groups to be linked to, or influence political policies or legislations.”
Our Duty founder Keith Jordan claimed that a bank manager had told him in a phone call that the group couldn’t get an account because of what it believes is in conflict with the bank’s culture, but the bank denied making any such decisions based an individual or organisation’s personal or political views.
The building society has also denied closing any accounts over opinions, saying they “only ever 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, comments and behaviour in each case.”
Triggernometry, a British YouTube show and podcast featuring interviews and satirical content about current affairs and social issues, also lost a bank account recently. According to co-host Konstantin Kisin, the bank has also cited their reception of donations as a reason.