The country’s biggest banks have quietly introduced the right to monitor customers’ social media into their privacy policies, The Telegraph can disclose.
Despite public denials that they carry out checks on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the four biggest high street lenders and several others have buried in the small print of their privacy policies that they may obtain information from social media accounts.
Banks are facing increasing pressure to reveal what checks they carry out on customers after Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, discovered the exclusive bank Coutts closed his accounts after it was deemed that his views “do not align with our values”. A dossier compiled on Mr Farage included examples of his posts on Twitter.
The Brexiteer is also demanding an apology from the BBC, after it inaccurately reported that his account was closed for commercial reasons, the day after its business editor sat next to Dame Alison Rose, the chief executive of Natwest, at a dinner.
Mr Farage has now lodged a complaint with the Information Commissioner over the briefing to the corporation about his account.
It comes as the Telegraph can reveal that three more banks are being scrutinised by the Treasury amid claims accounts have closed because of customers’ political views.
The cases relate to Metro Bank, Yorkshire Building Society and American Express.
The specifics of the cases being looked at by officials are not known. However, the political parties Reform UK and the Brexit Party are both understood to have had difficulties with their accounts with Metro Bank. It recently emerged that Yorkshire Building Society closed the account of Reverend Richard Fothergill days after he wrote to the bank complaining about its messaging for Pride month. Richard Tice, the Reform UK leader, has also told The Telegraph that his American Express account was suspended for a number of weeks earlier this year.
Watching social media
Natwest, which is 39 per cent owned by the taxpayer and is the parent company of Coutts, did not answer questions about whether it regularly looks at customers’ social media.
However, in a 13-page privacy notice it said it may gather “information that you make public on social media”, including Facebook and Twitter. Coutts’ policy is identical.
Lloyds Banking Group, which also owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland, ignored questions about the issue, but admits in small print it may collect information from “published media and social networks”.
The banks do not refer to this in the terms and conditions for account closures.
HSBC also refused to deny that it monitored customers’ social media. In its 28-page privacy notice, it admits it could monitor information “that relates to your social interactions, such as your communications via social media, between individuals, organisations, prospects”. The bank said it would not comment on internal processes.
Barclays admits that in some circ*mstances “we collect information about you, such as from your actions on our social media pages or through the social media”, when explaining what data it holds.
Public information
When asked about the issue, Nationwide said it does “not actively or monitor social media profiles”, but online states that “in certain situations, we may use information that you’ve made public such as tweets or social media content too”.
Santander says it does not monitor customers’ social media accounts, but that it will check publicly available data sources.
Virgin Money said that it does “not ordinarily examine people’s social media accounts to fulfil our regulatory obligations”, unless this is relating to a complaint.
Metro Bank says it will “occasionally obtain [information] from publicly available sources, such as social media sites”.
Refinitv, which owns the World-Check Risk Intelligence database that is used by banks to search for regulatory red flags on potential customers such as terrorism, crime or political exposure, also looks at social media, but said this was for biographical information rather than risk factors.
UK Finance, the banking industry body, has admitted that lenders could run checks on customers using social media.
“Banks [are] allowed to monitor social media of their clients, well to the same degree as other people,” a source said last week. “They’ve also got more obligations to monitor their customer activity than many other businesses as they’re in the regulated sector.”
‘People will be horrified’
Mr Farage likened banks monitoring customers’ social media to Communist China.
“I don’t want to live in communist China, yet increasingly we are. The banks are out of control and need to be brought to heel. People will be horrified by this.”
Gareth Johnson, the MP for Dartford, said it was disturbing that banks had given themselves the green light to monitor social media.
“This smacks of a big brother approach from the banks. I cannot see what anybody’s social media activities have to do with their bank. Too often the banking sector seems to have lost its way recently which should worry us all.”
NatWest said: “It is not our policy to exit a customer on the basis of legally held political and personal views. Decisions to close an account are not taken lightly and involve a number of factors including commercial viability, reputational considerations, and legal and regulatory requirements.”
Barclays said it complies with legal and regulatory obligations and would only withdraw services “in exceptional circ*mstances”.
A Metro Bank spokesman said: “It is not our policy to close or refuse an account due to the political or personal beliefs of an individual or organisation.”
A request for comment was submitted to spokesmen for Yorkshire Building Society and American Express.
