![\"NatWest](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/natwestfront.jpeg\")
\t\tNatwest and other top lenders will face the rule changes (Image: PA).\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tMonday 27 April 2026 10:21 am\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tNatwest and other top lenders will face the rule changes (Image: PA).\t<\/p>\n
A number of Britain\u2019s top lenders will on Tuesday face a rules overhaul relating to regulations around de-banking customers.<\/a><\/p>\n HSBC, Natwest and Lloyds are among the lenders that will have to comply with the new changes that are expected to afford customers improved protections when accounts are closed.<\/p>\n New rules \u2013 which will come into effect from April 28 \u2013 dictate banks and payment service providers must give at least 90 days\u2019 notice before terminating a payment service. This is up from the previous two-month requirement. <\/p>\n Customers will have more time to challenge decisions if they believe their account was wrongly closed. Banks will also have to provide a clear explanation to customers in writing so they are able to challenge this through the Financial Ombudsman Service.<\/a><\/p>\n De-banking refers to when banks opt to close or refuse to open specific customers, usually due to their own regulatory restrictions. It can apply to both businesses and individuals.<\/p>\n \t\tDe-banking scandals rock political system<\/p>\n High profile cases of de-banking have dominated headlines in recent years, most notably the infamous case of Nigel Farage and Natwest.<\/p>\n Farage\u2019s debanking scandal led to the resignation of Natwest boss Alison Rose after Coutts \u2013 a private bank part of the Natwest group \u2013 identified the politician as a politically exposed person (PEP).<\/p>\n PEPs refer to those who hold public office and as a result are subject to extra due diligence by financial firms. Farage has said his account was shut down unfairly because the bank disagreed with his personal and political beliefs.<\/p>\n On the other side of the pond, political de-banking scandals<\/a> have ramped up. In January, Trump blasted\u00a0JP Morgan, for \u201cincorrect and inappropriately\u201d discriminating against him after the President alleged\u00a0America\u2019s biggest bank<\/a> stopped offering him services after the Capitol riots on 6 January.<\/p>\n When announcing the new rules in the UK, the Labour party said <\/a>they would help give customers greater time to dispute closures and secure alternative banking arrangements.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n