The complete record
17 incidents matching your filters.
July 2023
02Coutts closes Nigel Farage's accounts; internal dossier prompts NatWest CEO resignation and UK debanking reform
In March 2023, Coutts — the private banking arm of NatWest Group — closed accounts held by Nigel Farage, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader. The bank initially indicated to the BBC, via NatWest CEO Dame Alison Rose, that Farage had fallen below Coutts' wealth threshold. After Farage obtained a 40-page internal Wealth Reputational Risk Committee dossier through a Subject Access Request, The Telegraph published the document on July 19, 2023; it described Farage's public views as 'at odds with our values.' Dame Alison Rose resigned July 26, 2023; Coutts CEO Peter Flavel resigned days later. The UK Financial Conduct Authority opened a review and Parliament tightened bank account-closure rules.
JPMorgan Chase closes accounts of Dr. Joseph Mercola, his health company, and personal accounts of executives
On July 13, 2023, JPMorgan Chase notified Dr. Joseph Mercola — an osteopathic physician and natural-health retailer named in a 2021 report on COVID-19 vaccine 'misinformation' cited by the U.S. Surgeon General — that it was closing all of his business banking accounts, his company's investment accounts, and the personal accounts of his CEO and CFO and members of their families. Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis opened an inquiry; Chase responded by citing 'regulatory scrutiny' by federal authorities without further specifics.
October 2022
02JPMorgan Chase ends banking relationship with Kanye West and Yeezy amid wider business breakups
In October 2022, JPMorgan Chase formally notified Kanye West (Ye) that it was ending its banking relationship with him and his Yeezy brand. A copy of the termination letter was posted online by commentator Candace Owens. The Associated Press reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the breakup had been planned for weeks before West's early-October antisemitic social media posts. West's businesses simultaneously faced terminations from Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, and CAA. Chase did not state a public reason; West and supporters initially characterized the closure as politically motivated, while the timing reported by AP complicates that framing.
JPMorgan Chase closes National Committee for Religious Freedom account and requests donor list
In late spring 2022, JPMorgan Chase closed the bank account of the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit chaired by former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. According to Brownback, Chase later told the group that it could provide a donor list and other information for review — a demand NCRF declined. The episode was disclosed publicly in October 2022 and prompted a March 2023 letter from 19 state attorneys general to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.