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Financial Conduct Authority’s call for calm suggests it does not think bank chair, Howard Davies, should resign. The City regulator has urged NatWest shareholders, including the UK government, to “choose stability”, suggesting they should resist calls for the chair, Howard Davies, to resign over a scandal linked to Nigel Farage’s bank accounts. NatWest is still reeling from the resignation of its chief executive, Alison Rose, after late-night interventions by Downing Street last week. It came after Rose admitted discussing Farage’s account closure with a BBC journalist. The head of NatWest’s exclusive private bank Coutts, where Farage had previously held accounts, was pushed out two days after Rose left. While Farage wants more heads to roll at NatWest – which is still 38.5% government-owned after its 2008 state bailout – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has called for calm. “The economic secretary to the Treasury [Andrew Griffith] just last week mentioned that he had confidence in Howard Davies, the current chair,” the FCA’s director for consumer matters and competition, Sheldon Mills, said. “I agree with his view that it’s important to have stability at NatWest and that having a chair remain in place will help support that.” When asked whether the FCA was officially backing Davies, Mills said: “It’s the FCA’s position that ultimately that’s a decision for the board, a decision for that institution, and its shareholders. “We urge those shareholders and the board to achieve stability within that institution. “What we are interested in is that banks and the banking system is stable and that consumers have trust and confidence in it. And what we will continue to do, as we have done in the past few weeks, is to support banks and boards in getting to the right decisions or solutions in relation to that.” When asked whether the FCA was concerned about the potential breach of client confidentiality related to Rose’s discussions with the BBC, Mills said the regulator would look closely at the matter once NatWest’s independent review was completed. The review, which is being led by the law firm Travers Smith and will probably run until the end of October, will look into any leaks of confidential customer information to the media, and why Farage’s accounts at Coutts were closed. It will also review how internal reports about his political views and actions were compiled. Farage obtained documents from Coutts showing that while he had been below the bank’s “commercial criteria” for some time – referring to its requirement to hold £1m in investments or loans, or £3m in savings – the decision to shut his accounts was also based on concerns that his “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views” posed a risk to its reputation. Banks are not allowed to shut accounts or deny services due to customers’ political views or beliefs. Mills said the scandal had shed light on whether banks had the right systems and processes in place regarding account closures. While some accounts would have to be closed if banks suspected financial crime including money laundering, “it’s really important that banks are not terminating on the basis of some of these political views”. Mills said he welcomed the City minister’s work to strengthen protections for bank customers, including by increasing the notice they must give for account closures from 30 to 90 days.