On Monday 12th December the Financial Services Authority reported its findings on the bank’s failings that lead to the public bail-out in the Autumn of 2008.
There was also a programme shown recently on C4 entitled “RBS the bank that ran out of money” which made for painful viewing. With lack of a full understanding of what was going on within the group at board level, and from listening to the then Chairman Sir Tom McKillop talking in 2007 and 2008 as the problems escalated – it was plain that they just did not gather to a large degree what was really happening within this now massive financial group. The huge amount of assets gathered on one balance sheet and also ergo toxic assets after the ABN Amro take over with little due diligence. However what did I do – yes, like many – I bought in to the rights issue and got well and truly… everyone knows what happened. Sad for those who had worked there, man and boy faithfully to see their nest egg wiped out. A former senior manager made that point well during the programme.
What perspective or analogy can we apply? Perhaps along with the Government forced take over of HBOS by Lloyds Bank – and the problems that this has caused LLoyds since – the Bank of Scotland seems nothing more than a museum on the mound in Edinburgh and retail trading brand in Scotland… has this been Scotland’s new Darien and what of the political ramifications? Standard Life plus other remaining financial services companies don’t quite make up for the presence and dynamism of a globally respected bank or two. Leaving many faithful employees and long-term customers who were also shareholders little in place of astonishment and disappointment similar to the investors of the ill judged and inept colonial adventure of the 1690s to the Darien Peninsular. The Union of the Parliaments happened soon after so what could happen politically now?
LDC