A high street bank in the centre of a storm over the cancellation of Nigel Farage’s account also closed a Ceredigion charity’s account with no prior warning, the Cambrian News can reveal.
The closure of the account left volunteers questioning whether they did something wrong and gave them sleepless nights as they tried to keep the hall open.
The account has now been temporarily reinstated but will be closed permanently later this month, with no reason given as to why.
NatWest, which owns prestigious private bank, Coutts, came under fire last month after it closed the account of right-wing politician Nigel Farage, with no prior warning.
This led ultimately to the resignation of the head of NatWest and Coutts.
Drawing parallels with the high-profile spat and the situation the Borth charity finds itself in, Hilary Matthews, treasurer of Borth Sports and Playing Fields Association, said: “Our account was closed in June and they would not tell us why.
“For the last six weeks, we have been trying to find a bank that will accept a charity account – very few do.
“I do think that the general treatment of clubs, societies and charities by the banks should be highlighted though. In light of the way Nigel Farage has been treated, it just goes to show how high-handed the banks are getting with regard to the service they are supposed to provide.
“I should point out that this is not the responsibility of anyone at the local branch of that institution - They have been as helpful as they are able to be whenever I have been in there, though they had no more information than I did.
“I was mainly in contact with the Business Banking team, though as I only had a telephone number I have no idea where they are actually based.
“They also had no information on the reason for the suspension of our accounts or our subsequent withdrawal of service other than it could be a suspected fraud.
“For several weeks I was left not knowing if there had been some sort of breach to our account, and whether there was still any money in the account!
“I had many sleepless nights worrying that I had somehow, inadvertently, done something wrong, and I know that Ray Quant, our chairman, was also worrying about this.”
The charity’s account will be permanently closed on the 22 August, but Hilary says she has secured a new account with the Co-op, so the hall and playing fields can operate as normal.
Hilary added: “It’s difficult enough to get volunteers to help with any charity without this.”
A NatWest Group spokesperson said: “Like all UK regulated banking institutions, NatWest is subject to legal and regulatory requirements, and we treat compliance with them as a matter of priority. This may mean NatWest is required to delay or refuse to act on a customer’s instructions, and/or suspend or restrict a customer’s accounts and/or services.
“The bank does not make any comments on the specifics of this case.”