Dame Alison Rose: NatWest to cut most of former CEO's potential £10m payout after Nigel Farage debanking row

NatWest Group is due to cut the majority of a payout to Dame Alison Rose, its former chief executive, which could have amounted to more than £10million, as it tries to draw a line under the debanking row sparked by the closure of Nigel Farage's Coutts accounts.

The board of NatWest, which is just under 40% owned by British taxpayers, has decided not to pay most of the discretionary elements of Dame Alison's pay package, according to Sky News. A source close to the bank told the publication that the NatWest board's decision was expected to be announced to the London Stock Exchange tomorrow (Friday November 10).

The precise figure for the sum that has been cut from the pay packet are unclear at the time of writing on Thursday evening (November 9), but it had been expected that NatWest would adopt a tough approach towards its former chief, who stepped down in late July after admitting that she discussed the former UKIP leader's banking arrangements with a BBC journalist. The 54-year-old CEO departed the bank by "mutual consent" due to the debanking issue. Her resignation was announced during a late-night board meeting called in response to pressure from Downing Street, the chancellor, and other senior cabinet members.

NatWest said previously said it would consider reducing Rose’s pay after she admitted to disclosing private information about Farage to the BBC. The decision that the NatWest board has now allegedly made means that Dame Alison will forfeit millions of pounds in unvested share awards, although she is still expected to receive a seven-figure sum in the form of her basic salary and fixed share allowance. She had accrued unvested share awards worth roughly £5million, most of which had been awarded since she became chief executive in 2019.

Dame Alison's contract, which incorporated a 12-month notice period, stipulated that she would receive an annual salary of £1.16m, with a further sum of the same amount in deferred share awards. Her legal fees are also expected to be paid by the bank. Farage previously told The Times: “She should not be getting a payoff at all. She has breached the most basic rule of banking and brought the NatWest group into disrepute. It’s a reward for failure.”

This week, the Information Commissioner's Office was forced to apologise to Dame Alison after it claimed she had inappropriately shared Farage’s personal data in an inaccurate way. The apology was met with anger by Farage. It emerged following a subject access request by 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 Farage, acknowledging that it had been guilty of "serious failings" in the way it had treated him. The decision to "debank" Farage sparked a firestorm in Westminster and forced the City watchdog into an urgent review of the practice across Britain's banking sector.

According to a public filing by NatWest in August, Dame Alison has been receiving her annual £2.4m package comprising base salary, pension contribution and a share-based fixed-pay allowance since her departure at the end of July. She was also eligible to be considered for a pro-rata portion of the £2.9m annual bonus and long-term share awards that made up the remainder of her total maximum pay package of £5.3m.

In addition, she held roughly 2.5 million unvested shares in NatWest, which at Thursday's (November 9) closing share price of 200.8p were worth in the region of £5m That amounted to a theoretical total of more than £10m, although the fact that Dame Alison left midway through 2023 means she would in any case only have been eligible for just over half of the £2.9m in annual variable pay.

The Treasury was expecting to be consulted on the terms of her exit package ahead of an announcement, although it was not known on Thursday evening (November 9) if it had given its consent or not.

Dame Alison, who the first woman to run one of Britain's big four London-listed banks, had initially apologised to Farage, and then said that she would give up her bonus for this year to make amends. Within hours, however, it seemed that Downing Street had lost confidence in her leadership, and this prompted the bank to convene an emergency board meeting which led to her departure. She has been replaced on an interim basis by Paul Thwaite, formerly the head of its commercial business.

NatWest, the Treasury and a spokesman for Dame Alison have not commented.