TWO-FINGER salutes appear to be all the rage. Sir Fred Goodwin, the former Royal Bank boss, has not been caught on camera making any such gesture, but his refusal to budge on his pension payout amounts to the same thing.
Goodwin is intent on defying everybody from the prime minister to the bank's outraged pensioner-shareholders, but don't be surprised if he relents.
There is word that he may make a donation of some sort, perhaps to charity, within a few weeks. Wha
t then? It will hardly be seen as an act of generosity.
While Goodwin sweats over his decision, the new management team are trying to put the past behind them and reinvigorate the bank, using the slightly contrived slogan 'Re-Building Standalone Strength'. Perhaps we should start referring to it as the RBSS, though as it is also trying to rid itself of allegations of authoritarianism that might not be such a good idea.
Goodwin's successor, Stephen Hester, called for an end to "banker bashing" after his chairman Sir Philip Hampton appealed for the "public flogging" to cease. As such they echo comments made recently by the Lord Mayor of the City of London and the Chancellor. But while the former CEO hovers like Banquo's ghost over the bank's affairs it will be difficult for the board to cleanse itself of past misdemeanours.
Until they prove that the culture of excess and self-interest is truly over they can expect, and deserve, all the criticism thrown at them. Sadly, as shown by Lloyds' decision to issue the HBOS annual report on a day when attention was focused on RBS, the banks are still taking the you-know-what.
More 'Dunfermlines' are in the offingTHE Nationwide swallowed up a large chunk of Dunfermline Building Society last weekend in a move that had echoes of the hurried marriage between HBOS and Lloyds TSB. Not only was it done in double-quick time, it took place amid allegations that the Westminster Government is deliberately undermining Scottish institutions in order to weaken the case for independence. A more convincing argument is that the moon is made of cheese.
Back on planet earth, the Nationwide will not be saddled with the sort of problems that beset Lloyds when it finally opened the biscuit tin at HBOS.
The Treasury has taken on the mouldy bits of Dunfermline to allow the good bits to carry on trading.
Savers and borrowers will not notice much difference as it will continue to trade as Dunfermline. As we reveal today, even the job losses at head office will be kept to a manageable number. No doubt there will be further outrage to come. Jim Spowart, the self-styled "saviour" of HBOS, joined the consortium that attempted to gatecrash the Dunfermline takeover. But let's hope there are no "I could have saved the Dunfermline" headlines. According to those close to the real deal, the consortium made no offer and had no chance.
Amid the outrage over Dunfermline's demise it has been largely overlooked that other societies have been running up even bigger losses and there could be more to come. It is too simplistic to blame bad management, and some of the name-calling in the media stoops to Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor levels of abuse. The Dunfermline overstretched its balance sheet, but smaller societies were caught out by the aggressive tactics of bigger rivals and the closure of wholesale markets following the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers. When commercial property was booming it looked like a no-brainer to get a piece of the action. Now that looks like a flawed idea. But hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Lambert's powers of regurgitationWHILE the RBS board faced shareholders in Edinburgh, the CBI director-general Richard Lambert was next door at the Sheraton delivering a speech that went virtually unnoticed. Not surprising, really. He spoke for at least 15 minutes, rambling on about the G20 and how there would be tighter regulation, and lots of ongoing pressures on companies, blah, blah.
There was barely a reference to Scotland and nothing that would prompt a rush of bookings ahead of his next visit. I'm told that he prefers to leave Scottish matters to Scottish director Iain McMillan, but if his idea of delivering a speech is to reiterate what we have all read in that morning's newspapers he may as well leave the lunchtime addresses to his man in Glasgow, too.
The full article contains 763 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
