A profuse and candid apology to investors in Royal Bank of Scotland for its troubles was delivered by its chairman and outgoing chief executive on Thursday. Sir Tom McKillop, chairman, also admitted to shareholders at the bank’s meeting, called to approve a £20bn capital raising, that RBS’s ill-timed acquisition of part of Dutch bank ABN Amro had added to the bank’s difficulties. “The buck stops with me as chairman and with the leadership of the group”, he said. Sir Fred Goodwin, who steps down as chief executive on Thursday, stood up at the two-hour long meeting to apologise in response to a demand from one investor. Sir Tom said RBS’s acquisition of part of ABN Amro at the height of the markets boom for €71bn had increased the group’s short-term vulnerability to the financial crisis. RBS has seen its shares fall 87% over the past year. About 300 investors at the meeting in Edinburgh voted by 99% to allow the bank to raise £20bn.

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