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'Fred the Shred', 'The World's Worst Banker' returns to corporate life in Edinburgh

James Irvine

Editor: www.land-care.org.uk

Filed 17Jan10
©www.land-care.org.uk

A revealing article in The Times (1) describes the latest move of the disgraced former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). It is indeed hard to credit. Sir Fred Goodwin is quietly re-entering corporate life in Edinburgh.

He has been accused of gambling with RBS as though he was at a casino, taking risks that were beyond reason or competent comprehension. He persisted in these activities even when warned of the dangers. He earned the reputation of being 'The World's worst Banker'.

The resultant damage has been massive: not only to the bank itself, but also to the financial sector in The City. The UK's economy has been severely damaged as the UK government had to effectively nationalise RBS to prevent the bank's demise. The economies of Scotland, and of the Edinburgh in particular, have been severely damaged. As the next budget and the general election approach, the knock on effects across the UK will be felt. They will be painful as efforts have to be made to reduce the massive increase in government debt incurred by the joint follies of RBS and HBOS.

The driving force behind the chief executives of RBS and HBOS appears to be greed. Acquire as much as possible without much regard to the risks they were taking with savers' money, appears to have been the mission. Operating on a global scale they seemed to think they operated in another world: one where responsibility to others didn't matter.

And so our street-wise Paisley boy, with no qualification in banking, but who appeared to be so good at acquiring rival companies while operating on a dicey financial base, is heading to get back into the game. And in Edinburgh, if you please: the city that he has most damaged.

According to The Times article, he is to be senior advisor to the international architect firm RMJM. It is understood that his job is to acquire other architect companies especially in Asia. As with banking, he is not believed to hold any qualification as an architect.

One has to wonder at the sheer brass neck of 'Fred the Shred'. So much for his expression of regret for his actions at RBS.

The question is also raised as to what kind of a company is RMJM (2). They were involved in a major way in the fiasco over the cost of the building of the Scottish Parliament: a massively over spent project with questionable quality of architecture. It would appear that RMJM want a smart money-man to make acquisitons but who is allegedly short on ethics.

©www.land-care.org.uk

Reference

1. Simon Goodley, Rebecca O’Connor, and Magnus Linklater. (2010).
'World’s worst banker’ Sir Fred Goodwin quietly returns to business
The Times 16th January 2010 Click Here to View

2. www.rmjm.com/about.view-about Click Here to View

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