What's happened
Rick Haythornthwaite, former chairman of Mastercard, to become chairman of NatWest Group, replacing Sir Howard Davies.
Why it matters
The appointment of Rick Haythornthwaite as the new chairman of NatWest Group is significant as he takes on the role amidst fallout from the Nigel Farage account closure scandal and the abrupt departure of the bank's chief executive.
What the papers say
The Guardian highlights Haythornthwaite's experience and suitability for the role, while The Independent focuses on the aftermath of the debanking row with Nigel Farage. The Times provides additional context on the fallout from the account closure scandal and the challenges facing NatWest Group.
How we got here
The appointment of Rick Haythornthwaite as chairman of NatWest Group follows the debanking row with Nigel Farage, which led to the departure of the bank's chief executive.
More on these topics
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National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank.
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Richard Neil Haythornthwaite, known as Rick, is a British business executive. He has led several companies including being the Chairman of MasterCard and the Creative Industries Federation.
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Nigel Paul Farage is a British politician. He has been leader of the Brexit Party since 2019, and served as Member of the European Parliament for South East England from 1999 until the United Kingdom's exit from the EU in 2020.
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Sir Howard John Davies is a British economist and author, who is the chairman of NatWest Group and the former director of the London School of Economics.
He was the first chairman of the Financial Services Authority. Davies was chairman of the Phoenix Gro
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Alison Rose is a British banker, and chief executive of NatWest Group since November 2019; she is the first woman to lead a major UK lender.