NatWest confirms Haythornthwaite as its next chairman

NatWest Group confirmed that prominent business leader Rick Haythornthwaite would become its new chairman on Wednesday afternoon, following earlier media reports, amid ongoing controversies around the bank’s decision to close accounts of political figure Nigel Farage.

Earlier in the day, Sky News reported that Haythornthwaite, currently the chair of Ocado and the AA, was expected to succeed Sir Howard Davies in the coming days.

In an update to markets on Wednesday, the NatWest board confirmed that Haythornthwaite would succeed Sir Howard Davies as chair, subject to regulatory approval.

It said he would join the board as an independent non-executive director on 8 January, and following a handover period, would take over as chair on 15 April next year, when Sir Howard Davies would stand down.

Haythornthwaite previously led companies including Centrica, Network Rail, and MasterCard International.

“At our annual general meeting in April, we announced that we would be commencing the search for Howard's successor,” said senior independent director Mark Seligman.

“Today's announcement follows a rigorous process which I have led along with the senior independent directors from our ring-fenced bank.”

Seligman said that after careful consideration of a number of high-quality candidates, the board had unanimously chosen Haythornthwaite as its new chair.

“Rick is a highly experienced chair who combines a successful commercial career with a deep knowledge of financial services markets and technology, as well as a strong track record of delivery at significant customer-facing organisations.”

NatWest, which remains nearly 40% taxpayer-owned, found itself at the centre of a public relations crisis over recent weeks following the closure of Nigel Farage's accounts with its subsidiary Coutts.

The bank initially said the accounts were closed for “commercial reasons”, although it later emerged that Farage's political views and reputation played a role in the decision, sparking considerable uproar and drawing attention from regulators.

The then-CEO of NatWest, Dame Alison Rose, stepped down in the wake of the scandal, with several reviews underway regarding the situation, including two internal inquiries by the bank.

A separate review was being undertaken by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) into how the financial industry handled ‘politically-exposed persons; (PEPs).

Among Haythornthwaite’s immediate responsibilities would be identifying a permanent successor to Dame Alison, Sky News said.

Paul Thwaite, one of the bank’s top executives who was elevated to the role on an interim basis, could be in the running.

Although Haythornthwaite's executive career was primarily in industrial sectors rather than banking, he was reportedly considered by government and regulators as a reliable choice, having overseen the acquisition of VocaLink during his time at MasterCard, and recently leading a review of armed forces incentivisation for the Ministry of Defence.

At 1356 BST, shares in NatWest Group were down 0.78% at 228.2p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.