The United Kingdom (UK) banks are closing down more than 1,000 accounts every business day, recent data reveals.
UK Banks Are Shutting Down Over 1,000 Accounts Every Day
According to The Guardian, the UK is witnessing a jaw-dropping trend: over 1,000 bank accounts are closed daily, new data shows.
The City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, reveals that the UK banking industry has been closing accounts at an alarming rate. Its freedom of information or FOI request shed light on the figures, which show the rapid rise in account closures.
Between 2016 and 2017, UK banks shut down roughly 45,000 accounts, according to the new data. However, the numbers have ballooned years after that. More recently, from 2021 to 2022, banks in the country have closed a whopping 343,000 accounts. In other words, The Guardian says that banks are shutting about 1,000 accounts every business day.
There are several reasons why banks might close an account. In some cases, it may be due to suspected financial crime. However, there are reports that banks are closing accounts for political reasons, or simply because they do not like the customer's business.
Yet, these account holders usually received little to no explanation over the closure of their accounts. In some instances, the bank is more transparent about it, citing various financial crimes, such as fraud and money laundering.
Bank Closure for Political Reasons
As per The Telegraph, the UK Treasury is investigating three more banks over claims that these financial institutions closed accounts due to customers' political stances.
The Telegraph reports that the scrutiny is related to the Metro Bank, American Express, and the Yorkshire Building. But despite that, the specifics of the investigation remain clandestine.
But it is worth noting that the Yorkshire Buiding Society shut the account of Reverend Richard Fothergill after his complaint against the messaging of the bank for LGBTQ+'s Pride month.
On top of that, The Telegraph reports that a Refrom UK leader, Richard Tice, says that his American Express faced suspension after he failed to provide the requested documents. Meanwhile, the news outlet notes that Metro Bank closed the accounts affiliated with the Reform UK political party last 2021.
Besides these cases, the investigation comes as Coutts closed down former-Ukip leader Nigel Farage's accounts.
According to BBC's report, anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller disclosed that a UK bank told her that it is closing down her political part bank account in September. She claims that the financial institution failed to give her any explanation. The bank told her, "We [cannot] tell you why we're closing your account."
The bank's spokesperson told BBC, "Like lots of banks, we do not accept any political parties as Monzo Business customers." Despite that, Miller opened her political part account with Monzo in 2021.
