NATWEST's board was under fire last night after its disastrous handling of CEO Alison Rose's exit, agreed at a hastily arranged board meeting in the early hours of yesterday morning.

In a dramatic volte-face, Natwest announced yesterday that Rose would resign just hours after the board had expressed its confidence in her leadership on Tuesday evening. The move came after Rose revealed she had been responsible for unwittingly serving as the source of a BBC story about Nigel Farage's Coutts bank account, which was shut for political reasons.

The CEO insisted she had not discussed Farage's personal financial circumstances specifically, but it is understood that individuals within both 10 Downing Street and the Treasury expressed dismay at the original decision to keep Rose.

Calls were growing yesterday for Sir Howard Davies, the lender's chairman, to step down ahead of his scheduled departure in spring of next year.

Farage told GB News that Rose's exit was "a start" but the "whole board needs to go".

He argued Coutts boss Peter Flavel must take "ultimate responsibility" while chair Davies is "responsible for overall governance".

Investors also raised question marks over Davies' judgement.

One top-20 investor told the Financial Times "he's clearly not in charge" while another said "my suspicion is that he will end up going, but probably shouldn't have to".

However, City minister Andrew Griffith said there was no need for Davies, who is stepping down next year, to resign. "There's already a search under way... for his replacement," he said. Griffith separately chaired a meeting of bank bosses who committed to avoid making similar calls to Coutts in future.

Shares in the lender dragged on the FTSE 100, ending 3.7 per cent lower.

With Rose's exit, the FTSE 100 lost one of its few female chief executives and some highlighted the possible sexism around the saga.

City grandee Ann Francke, who held senior positions at both Proctor & Gamble and Boots and now runs the Chartered Management Institute, suggested women in senior positions might be held to a "higher standard than their male counterparts - most notably when they make a high-profile mistake".

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper