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Former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin 'threatened staff with disciplinary action over biscuit'
Originally posted by 5corpio
Having the wrong kind of biscuit served with his tea drove disgraced banker Sir Fred Goodwin to threaten catering staff with disciplinary action, according to a new account of the financial crisis written by Chancellor George Osborne’s former chief of staff.
The former boss of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) vented his anger over the pink wafer in an email titled “Rogue Biscuit” in an example of his “overbearing” management style that may help explain the collapse of the bank in 2008, the new book claims.
Authors Matthew Hancock, who worked for Mr Osborne before becoming an MP himself in the last General Election, and Nadhim Zahawi, the founder of YouGov and a fellow Tory MP, have argued that the peculiar characteristics of key figures are vital to understanding the crisis.
Their book, Masters of Nothing: How the crash will happen again unless we understand human nature, calls for regulators and politicians to focus more on dominant characters to prevent dangerous financial exuberance in the future.
According to a piece published in Prospect Magazine on Thursday, the book includes an account of how RBS staff “went into panic mode” after a window cleaner fell off a ladder in Sir Fred’s office and broke a small model aeroplane. Recalling staff’s trepidation at explaining the accident to Sir Fred, Peter de Vink, managing director of Edinburgh Financial & General Holdings, claims they “were absolutely terrified of him”.
The authors reveal that Sir Fred “went so far as to refuse to allow his chief economist to attend the Select Committee hearing, until the chair of the committee was forced to call and explain that if he....Read more here----> Former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin 'threatened staff with disciplinary action over biscuit' - Telegraph
The former boss of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) vented his anger over the pink wafer in an email titled “Rogue Biscuit” in an example of his “overbearing” management style that may help explain the collapse of the bank in 2008, the new book claims.
Authors Matthew Hancock, who worked for Mr Osborne before becoming an MP himself in the last General Election, and Nadhim Zahawi, the founder of YouGov and a fellow Tory MP, have argued that the peculiar characteristics of key figures are vital to understanding the crisis.
Their book, Masters of Nothing: How the crash will happen again unless we understand human nature, calls for regulators and politicians to focus more on dominant characters to prevent dangerous financial exuberance in the future.
According to a piece published in Prospect Magazine on Thursday, the book includes an account of how RBS staff “went into panic mode” after a window cleaner fell off a ladder in Sir Fred’s office and broke a small model aeroplane. Recalling staff’s trepidation at explaining the accident to Sir Fred, Peter de Vink, managing director of Edinburgh Financial & General Holdings, claims they “were absolutely terrified of him”.
The authors reveal that Sir Fred “went so far as to refuse to allow his chief economist to attend the Select Committee hearing, until the chair of the committee was forced to call and explain that if he....Read more here----> Former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin 'threatened staff with disciplinary action over biscuit' - Telegraph