Reported by Miles Brignall

Banks are closing more than 1,000 accounts every working day, according to new data that has fuelled the growing row over so-called “debanking” and prompted Nigel Farage to call for a royal commission to investigate what he said was a scandal.

The figures, obtained through a freedom of information (FoI) request made to City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authorityand first reported in the Mail on Sunday, revealed that in 2016-17, just over 45,000 accounts were shut by banks.

The total has increased every year since, climbing to just over 343,000 accounts in 2021-22 – representing well over 1,000 for every business day of the week.

It is estimated that almost 90,000 individuals have been categorised as “politically exposed persons”, leading to some politicians or their families being turned down by banks. These include some MPs and other figures deemed to potentially be at risk of abusing their positions for private gain

Most of those who have been affected by these issues are not in the political spotlight, but are ordinary people trying to go about their lives or run businesses.

Some seemingly found themselves debanked because they held perfectly legal cryptocurrency or gambling accounts. Others who were not born in the UK have found their accounts shut down, often after making or receiving payments from abroad.

Until now the banks have often hidden behind money-laundering regulations to refuse to say why an account has been closed.

Commenting on the data, the FCA said increased monitoring by banks might explain some of the increase in account closures. There are about 75m accounts in the UK.

Read full report: https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/30/uk-banks-closing-more-than-1000-accounts-every-day