Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right party National Front, said she and her party intend to lodge complaints against HSBC Holdings Plc, Société Générale SA and Crédit du Nord SA for closing her and the party's bank accounts, Reuters reported Nov. 22.
Le Pen, who lost the French presidential election in May to Emmanuel Macron, said her personal account at HSBC and the National Front's accounts at SocGen had been closed. She also claimed that SocGen unit Crédit du Nord, which had been instructed by the Banque de France to open an account for the National Front, had refused to process cheque and credit card payments for the party.
In response, SocGen reportedly said the group's decisions to open or close a bank account "depend purely on banking reasons and in respect of all regulatory requirements, without taking into account any political consideration." It added that Crédit du Nord had offered a National Front representative banking services required under regulatory obligations, Reuters noted.
Meanwhile, HSBC said it acted in accordance with all necessary regulations.
Under French laws, banks are allowed to close accounts with advance notice without providing an explanation.
