You’d think America would have enough bankers of its own to hang before picking on Scottish chancers like the former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland.
But no. Daniel Gross at Slate magazine has launched a search for the World’s Worst Banker – and who does he pick?
Richard Fuld? James Cayne? Any of the three men that brought Citigroup to its knees? Nope.
…my nominee is someone whose name may not be familiar to American audiences. He’s Fred Goodwin, who until October served as CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Goodwin (here’s the Wikipedia entry about him) took the helm of RBS in 2000 and proceeded to turn it into an international powerhouse. Known as “Fred the Shred” for his willingness to cut costs—and jobs—he emerged as Britain’s leading banker. He was even knighted in 2004 for services to banking. But the bank, which this summer was Britain’s largest, is now neither Royal nor Scottish nor much of a bank. RBS’s slogan is “Make it happen.” A review of the record shows that Goodwin indeed made it happen. He aced every requirement for a hubristic CEO.
It’s SIR Fred Goodwin.
Have your say — either below or in the Long Room where “Backgammon” has launched a full-blown Award process.
A Grosvenor House do beckons…
Related links
Final score: Jeff Randall 1, Sir Fred 0 – FT Alphaville