Stephen Hester to step down
Discussion
I'm not his biggest fan, hell, he made me redundant, but he was actually doing a good job in a considered, long-term type of way.
I think the conversation went a little like this:
George Osborne: Steve, good news, we're putting you back in private hands in the next 12 months or so.
Stephen Hester: Errr George, we're still loss-making and holding a lot of toxic debt, this is not the time to sell.
GO: It's the perfect time to sell, we'll make £20bn and that will reduce the national debt.
SH: Yeah, but the taxpayers paid £45bn for their share, meaning you'll actually lose £25bn, completely wasted, flushed down the s
tter, really RBS can only go one way now, you're selling at the bottom of the market when you don't need too.
GO: How long will it take to sort it all out?
SH: 'bout 3-4 years.
GO: So.... past the election then.
SH: 'fraid so.
GO: Steve, would you mind swinging by HR, we need to have a little chat.
I predict some sort of taxpayer windfall, maybe a few hundred quid for everyone just before the next election, it'll boost the economy temporarily, make everyone feel a bit better and we're all meant to forget we've been royally fked over to keep CMD and George in work for another 5 years.
Not sure where they got the idea to sell of the family silver at knock-down prices for short-term gain....
I think the conversation went a little like this:
George Osborne: Steve, good news, we're putting you back in private hands in the next 12 months or so.
Stephen Hester: Errr George, we're still loss-making and holding a lot of toxic debt, this is not the time to sell.
GO: It's the perfect time to sell, we'll make £20bn and that will reduce the national debt.
SH: Yeah, but the taxpayers paid £45bn for their share, meaning you'll actually lose £25bn, completely wasted, flushed down the s
tter, really RBS can only go one way now, you're selling at the bottom of the market when you don't need too. GO: How long will it take to sort it all out?
SH: 'bout 3-4 years.
GO: So.... past the election then.
SH: 'fraid so.
GO: Steve, would you mind swinging by HR, we need to have a little chat.
I predict some sort of taxpayer windfall, maybe a few hundred quid for everyone just before the next election, it'll boost the economy temporarily, make everyone feel a bit better and we're all meant to forget we've been royally f
ked over to keep CMD and George in work for another 5 years. Not sure where they got the idea to sell of the family silver at knock-down prices for short-term gain....
twerpo said:
With margins at historical high levels ie 0.5% to 4% +
Almost impossible for banks not to make money.
IMO Hester was little weak in an actuary way.
These guys are accountants not business men which shows I hear from insiders it's all cost cutting no profit chasing just benefiting from the current high margins. So potential is lost and everyone is worried about losing their jobs even if they are in a profitable area.
Not sure where you got all that from but in RBS's case it's not true. Hester took over a bank with a £2tril balance sheet which was to say the last optimistically valued.....the performance of the bank over the last five years has been totally dominated by losses on writing down that balance sheet. I think it's been shrunk by circa £1 bil so far but it's still haeomoraging money in it's Ulster Bank business for one which is fAlmost impossible for banks not to make money.
IMO Hester was little weak in an actuary way.
These guys are accountants not business men which shows I hear from insiders it's all cost cutting no profit chasing just benefiting from the current high margins. So potential is lost and everyone is worried about losing their jobs even if they are in a profitable area.
k all to do with Hester.You need to think back to when RBS was bailed out....it was an incredible coincidence that to bail out RBS the amount of money invested meant HM Govt owned 84% of the bank....if that figure had been just 6% higher rbS would have been nationalised which would have been a total disaster for every tax payer in the country.
Or maybe they injected as much capital as they could knowing it was still totally f
ked but simply couldn't give it any more....Sure they had IT issues on Hester's watch but he's done a decent job in an incredibly difficult situation....when he took over the bank was insolvent and probably still is. The BoE knows that, the Government knows that, Hester knows that, the FSA knows that....but no one can say it.
johnnywb said:
To find someone who's prepared to be almost constantly in the public eye (when it come to business) and who's prepared to work towards the government's objectives (which could be quite different from the normal objectives of the Bank)?
It could quite easily take 12 months i'd have thought.
I'll gladly fIt could quite easily take 12 months i'd have thought.
k up my public image for that package 
Cheib said:
twerpo said:
With margins at historical high levels ie 0.5% to 4% +
Almost impossible for banks not to make money.
IMO Hester was little weak in an actuary way.
These guys are accountants not business men which shows I hear from insiders it's all cost cutting no profit chasing just benefiting from the current high margins. So potential is lost and everyone is worried about losing their jobs even if they are in a profitable area.
Not sure where you got all that from but in RBS's case it's not true. Hester took over a bank with a £2tril balance sheet which was to say the last optimistically valued.....the performance of the bank over the last five years has been totally dominated by losses on writing down that balance sheet. I think it's been shrunk by circa £1 bil so far but it's still haeomoraging money in it's Ulster Bank business for one which is fAlmost impossible for banks not to make money.
IMO Hester was little weak in an actuary way.
These guys are accountants not business men which shows I hear from insiders it's all cost cutting no profit chasing just benefiting from the current high margins. So potential is lost and everyone is worried about losing their jobs even if they are in a profitable area.
k all to do with Hester.You need to think back to when RBS was bailed out....it was an incredible coincidence that to bail out RBS the amount of money invested meant HM Govt owned 84% of the bank....if that figure had been just 6% higher rbS would have been nationalised which would have been a total disaster for every tax payer in the country.
Or maybe they injected as much capital as they could knowing it was still totally f
ked but simply couldn't give it any more....Sure they had IT issues on Hester's watch but he's done a decent job in an incredibly difficult situation....when he took over the bank was insolvent and probably still is. The BoE knows that, the Government knows that, Hester knows that, the FSA knows that....but no one can say it.
It'll be sold just in time for it to turn a huge profit.
Ultimately the taxes paid on the salaries etc and the companies which don't go belly up will produce far more tax income that any loss made by the tax payer investment.
I don't give a damn if he rides on a hunt why does that matter, only matters to lefty delusional envious fools.
Socialism is a bigger problem you only have to look at who got us into this mess.
Risk is something banks have never been good at.
I tried to get a 50% property loan and they said it was too big a risk! Complete Idiots.
London prime property which I was buying off market at 15% below market value for a quick sale and they said tooooo risky.
Muppets. Havn't got a clue.
Whilst I always have some sympathy with anyone on the receiving end of politician's criticism and the general fkwittery of the media, he has quietly buggered up the one bit of RBS that was working and serving the country well.
The commercial operation, serving small and medium sized businesses didn't lose money and had a very effective structure using local managers who were given genuine responsibility and incentives to develop business relationships and support good businesses.
Hester, the twunt, has overseen the wholesale dismantling of this network, centralising decision making and tossing out the years of local knowledge built up by business managers over the years. All under "cost saving" imperatives no doubt. Unfortunately the idiot has managed to neuter the one effective use the bank might have had - helping small to medium sized businesses drag the country out of the hole we are in.
They are now scrabbling around trying to increase their loan book with people who know nothing about the businesses they are talking too, whilst all the time a centralised credit control operation involving spotty eyed berks looking at spreadsheets have the whip hand.
kwittery of the media, he has quietly buggered up the one bit of RBS that was working and serving the country well. The commercial operation, serving small and medium sized businesses didn't lose money and had a very effective structure using local managers who were given genuine responsibility and incentives to develop business relationships and support good businesses.
Hester, the twunt, has overseen the wholesale dismantling of this network, centralising decision making and tossing out the years of local knowledge built up by business managers over the years. All under "cost saving" imperatives no doubt. Unfortunately the idiot has managed to neuter the one effective use the bank might have had - helping small to medium sized businesses drag the country out of the hole we are in.
They are now scrabbling around trying to increase their loan book with people who know nothing about the businesses they are talking too, whilst all the time a centralised credit control operation involving spotty eyed berks looking at spreadsheets have the whip hand.
Leithen said:
Whilst I always have some sympathy with anyone on the receiving end of politician's criticism and the general fkwittery of the media, he has quietly buggered up the one bit of RBS that was working and serving the country well.
The commercial operation, serving small and medium sized businesses didn't lose money and had a very effective structure using local managers who were given genuine responsibility and incentives to develop business relationships and support good businesses.
Hester, the twunt, has overseen the wholesale dismantling of this network, centralising decision making and tossing out the years of local knowledge built up by business managers over the years. All under "cost saving" imperatives no doubt. Unfortunately the idiot has managed to neuter the one effective use the bank might have had - helping small to medium sized businesses drag the country out of the hole we are in.
They are now scrabbling around trying to increase their loan book with people who know nothing about the businesses they are talking too, whilst all the time a centralised credit control operation involving spotty eyed berks looking at spreadsheets have the whip hand.
Exactly. Incompetent.kwittery of the media, he has quietly buggered up the one bit of RBS that was working and serving the country well. The commercial operation, serving small and medium sized businesses didn't lose money and had a very effective structure using local managers who were given genuine responsibility and incentives to develop business relationships and support good businesses.
Hester, the twunt, has overseen the wholesale dismantling of this network, centralising decision making and tossing out the years of local knowledge built up by business managers over the years. All under "cost saving" imperatives no doubt. Unfortunately the idiot has managed to neuter the one effective use the bank might have had - helping small to medium sized businesses drag the country out of the hole we are in.
They are now scrabbling around trying to increase their loan book with people who know nothing about the businesses they are talking too, whilst all the time a centralised credit control operation involving spotty eyed berks looking at spreadsheets have the whip hand.
Pesty said:
scenario8 said:
rohrl said:
Any excuse.
The rider claims it was his one and only hunt, incidentally. I bet he regrets it too.
I suppose a snap of Bob Diamond stamping on a sickly orphan would have been better but that shot is still being suppressed.
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