Former RBS Chief Exec Fred Goodwin Stripped of His Knighthood
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Fred Goodwin, the disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive, has been stripped of his knighthood.

Government officials confirmed the award has been "cancelled and annulled" because the bank's former chief executive had "brought the honours system into disrepute".

The Forfeiture Committee met last week to consider the issue. Its recommendation to strip Mr Goodwin of the honour was conferred to the Queen by Prime Minister David Cameron, the Cabinet Office said.

The announcement that Mr Goodwin has been stripped of the honour for "services to banking" will shortly be announced in the [The] London Gazette.

"The scale and severity of the impact of his actions as chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland made this an exceptional case," a spokesman for the Cabinet Office said. » | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Cameron Says Fred Goodwin May Lose Knighthood
THE TIMES: Sir Fred Goodwin could be stripped of his knighthood, David Cameron signalled today, as he vowed to take on an “out of control” City bonus culture. The Prime Minister said that the honour awarded the former RBS chief would be examined by a senior Whitehall committee with the power to revoke it. He also said that the cash element of bonuses paid this year to staff at RBS, which is 83 per cent owned by the taxpayer, would be restricted to £2,000, the same as last year. Mr Cameron’s comments followed a speech in which he sought to champion the moral power of markets, insisting that the Conservatives were best placed to re-shape the economy from “this crisis of capitalism”. Sir Fred’s knighthood, which was awarded by Gordon Brown, has attracted increasing ire from MPs of all parties since… » | Roland Watson, Jenny Booth and Patrick Hosking | Thursday, January 19, 2012 [£]

Angry RBS Shareholders Vote against Sir Fred Goodwin's Pension
THE TELEGRAPH: Royal Bank of Scotland's shareholders have emphatically rejected the £700,003 annual pension awarded to former chief Sir Fred Goodwin at a tense meeting in Edinburgh.


About 90pc of the beleaguered bank's shareholders voted against its renumeration report, including UK Financial Investments, which manages the taxpayers' majority stake.

Sir Fred was fired in the Autumn as RBS was forced to go cap-in-hand to the taxpayer for billions as financial markets and the economy soured. Sir Philip Hampton, the bank's new chairman, said that the pension plan is legally stipulated by Sir Fred's contract but no "stone is being left unturned' to see if it can be overturned. >>> By Jamie Dunkley and Peter Taylor in Edinburgh | Friday, April 3, 2009

RBS: Sir Fred Goodwin 'Thinking About' Shredding His Pension
THE TELEGRAPH: Former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin - known as 'Fred the Shred' - is considering a "voluntary reduction" in his £703,000-a-year pension payout, the bank has confirmed.

Chairman Sir Philip Hampton said Sir Fred was thinking about the move, but said it was too soon to know what the outcome would be.

He said: "I've asked Sir Fred if he would consider a voluntary reduction and he's told me he's thinking about that."

The comments come ahead of the bank's annual general meeting in Edinburgh later on Friday, when angry shareholders are expected to vote down RBS's remuneration report in protest at Sir Fred's controversial pension payout.

RBS - now majority-owned by the taxpayer - also warned of more job losses in the UK and internationally as it said the 2,700 announced so far this year for the UK were "not the end of the story".

The embattled bank said it was still unclear how many redundancies would be made, but stressed it would do "all it can" to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum.

The group is laying off staff as part of a plan to cut £2.5 billion from annual costs within the next three years. >>> | Friday, April 3, 2009

G20 Rabble-rousing Professor Is Suspended ahead of Summit
MAIL Online: The university professor masterminding mayhem at the G20 summit in London was suspended from his job yesterday.

The dramatic move came after anarchist Chris Knight threatened violence against the police in a series of inflammatory declarations.

The 66-year-old former member of Labour's extreme left-wing Militant Tendency warned that 'all hell will break loose' if demonstrators meet police aggression.

Knight, a lecturer in anthropology at the University of East London, confirmed that an effigy of disgraced former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin would be among those strung up at the protests and warned bankers to stay away.

He said of Sir Fred, whose house was attacked earlier this week: 'To be honest, if he winds us up any more I'm afraid there will be real bankers hanging from lampposts.'

Last night, his employers said in a statement: 'Professor Chris Knight has been suspended from his duties at the University of East London, pending investigation. In order not to prejudice this process we cannot make any further comment.'

In recent days, Knight has given media interviews warning of his plans to ignite a revolution in the capital to coincide with the G20 meeting. >>> By Michael Seamark | Friday, March 27, 2009

MAIL Online: 'White, Blue-eyed Bankers Have Brought World Economy to Its Knees': What the Brazilian President Told Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown’s efforts to broker an £80billion bailout for world trade on a trip to Brazil hit a stumbling block tonight when the country’s president lashed out at ‘white, blue-eyed’ bankers for bringing the world economy to its knees.

Mr Brown watched on uneasily as his host, President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, launched a bizarre tirade in which he warned that next week’s G20 summit in London would be a ‘spicy’ affair.

President Lula said it was completely unfair that the poorest people in the world were suffering most for the mistakes of wealthy, Western financiers.

‘This was a crisis that was fostered and boosted by irrational behaviour of people that are white, blue-eyed, that before the crisis looked like they knew everything about economics,’ he declared.

‘Now they have demonstrated that they don’t know anything about economics.’

President Lula, head of Brazil’s main left-wing party, said that ‘no black man or woman, no indigenous person, no poor person’ had been in any way culpable for the global banking crisis.

‘I’m not acquainted with any black banker,’ he said. ‘The part of humanity that’s responsible should pay for the crisis.’ >>> By James Chapman | Friday, March 27, 2009

Fat Cats in Terror after Anti-capitalists Attack Fred the Shred's Home
MAIL Online: Security will be stepped up around fat-cat bankers after the home of disgraced former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin was targeted by vandals.

A statement claiming to be from the group responsible for damage at his £3million mansion warned of further attacks, saying: 'This is just the beginning.'

The threat sparked fears of a terror campaign against those blamed for the collapse in the financial system.

The concern is that anti-capitalist groups will copy the tactics of animal rights militants by directly targeting individuals they hold responsible for the credit crunch.

Tensions are already high, with anarchists reported to be plotting mayhem at next week's G20 summit in London.

Their intention is to paralyse the Square Mile by staging sit-in protests and storming financial institutions, with the Bank of England and RBS among the top targets.

Effigies of bankers will be hung from lampposts. Security adviser Dai Davies, a former head of Scotland Yard's Royalty Protection squad, said: 'Risk assessments will have to be carried out by the police on individuals who are concerned about their safety. If there is cause for concern then appropriate advice will be given and pre put in place.

'The developments at Sir Fred Goodwin's home will almost certainly make some other high-profile bankers want to review their own private security arrangements.' >>> By Stephen Wright | Thursday, March 26, 2009

THE GUARDIAN: Banks Braced for City Riots During G20 Summit after Attack on Sir Fred Goodwin's Home

Financial sector staff are warned to keep low profile / Former RBS boss 'shaken' after early morning raid

The last time bankers faced angry demonstrations, some responded by pouring champagne or photocopied £50 notes from windows, but it is unlikely that protesters targeting the City next week during the G20 summit will be met by similar shows of bravado.

Many staff are being advised to dress down next Wednesday and Thursday to avoid being marked out as City workers - if they cannot avoid the protests entirely by working from home. Others have been advised to avoid leaving the office to attend meetings.

Concern about possible violence heightened when the home of former Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Sir Fred Goodwin was vandalised early yesterday morning, leaving three windows shattered and the rear window of his black Mercedes smashed. An anonymous email was sent to media organisations shortly after the attack threatening further action against "criminal" bank bosses.

The former RBS boss, who had not been at home and is at the centre of a row over the size of his pension from the taxpayer-owned bank, was said to have been "shaken" by the incident.

Many in the City believe aggressive media coverage of the financial crisis has declared a virtual open season on financial sector workers.

The financial advisory group Bluefin, which employs 500 staff in London, has set up a phone line offering staff updates next week. Staff have been told not to go to its office in Mark Lane in the City unless absolutely necessary. "As a responsible employer, the safety and wellbeing of our staff is always considered of paramount importance," a spokesman said.

A UBS spokesman said the bank would continue to assess the level of threat as it got nearer the time. "We are telling people to be cautious. If you have client meetings, do you need to have them here? Some of the banks have said dress down or try not to move around. It is all pretty obvious. "It is quite co-ordinated among the banks. We all talk to each other. I think it is different if you are in a landmark building, some are more obvious than others."

Another banker complained that we "are in an era of the demonisation of financial services". >>> David Teather | Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sir Fred Goodwin* Attack: Bank Bosses Are Criminals Group Claims Responsibility
THE TELEGRAPH: A group calling itself Bank Bosses Are Criminals has claimed responsibility for vandalising the Edinburgh home of Sir Fred Goodwin, the disgraced former chief executive of RBS bank.

Sir Fred Goodwin’s house vandalised.
In an email sent to local newspapers, the group called for bank bosses to be jailed and warned: "This is just the beginning".

The attack saw the windows of Sir Fred's home, in Edinburgh's upmarket Morningside area, smashed, along with those of a dark-coloured Mercedes S600 saloon parked in the driveway.

Sir Fred is understood to be abroad and the attack is believed to have been reported to police by a member of his household staff at 4.35am on Wednesday morning.

Minutes afterwards, an email was sent by a woman using the name Moira McLeod and the address bankbossesarecriminals@mail.com.

The email read: "Fred Goodwins house in Edinburgh, was attacked this morning.

"We are angry that rich people, like him, are paying themselves a huge amount of money, and living in luxury, while ordinary people are made unemployed, destitute and homeless.

"This is a crime. Bank bosses should be jailed.

"This is just the beginning." >>> By Aislinn Simpson | Wednesday, March 25, 2009

TIMESONLINE:
Anti-capitalist Group Boasts of Attack on Sir Fred Goodwin's Home >>> Lindsay McIntosh in Edinburgh, Martin Waller, Nico Hines | Wednesday, March 25, 2009

*Sir Fred Goodwin was known as 'Fred the Shred' because of his ruthless cost-cutting.

Treasury Starts Legal Steps to 'Claw Back' Sir Fred Goodwin Pension Pot
TIMES ONLINE: Sir Fred Goodwin may be forced to give up some of his massive £650,000 pension if he refuses pleas to "do the decent thing" and surrender it voluntarily.

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, today denied a suggestion from Sir Fred's successor at the Royal Bank of Scotland that the Government had known about the deal to top up the banker's pension pot when he left the ailing bank last year.

He also revealed that he had instructed a Treasury minister, Lord Myners, to contact Sir Fred and ask him voluntarily to give up some of his pension.

“I think people will find it very difficult to understand how you can get paid £650,000 a year for the rest of your life when just look at the state that RBS is in at the moment,” Mr Darling told BBC Radio 4. “You cannot justify these excesses, especially when you’ve got such a failure of this magnitude.” >>> Philip Webster, Political Editor, and Philippe Naughton | Thursday, February 26, 2009

BBC: RBS Reports Record Corporate Loss

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history.

RBS, which had to be bailed out by the government last year, said that its 2008 loss totalled £24.1bn ($34.2bn).

It also said it would put £325bn of toxic assets into a scheme that offers insurance for any further losses.

RBS is under fire over the pension of former boss Sir Fred Goodwin and the chancellor said the government had asked him to forego some of it.

Speaking at a news conference, RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said the bank was "under no illusions" about the scale of the losses.

He added that it was important "to think about the past, to know what went wrong, to disclose it and to address those issues". >>> | Thursday, February 26, 2009

Watch BBC video: Gordon Brown has said 'nobody can support very extensive pension arangements' at this time. >>>

Watch BBC video: Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable has launched a scathing attack on the government's scheme to insure banks against big losses. >>>

Watch BBC video: Chancellor Alistair Darling has spoken about the huge pension awarded to former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss Sir Fred Goodwin.

RBS has come under fire, after it emerged Sir Fred, who retired at 50, is drawing a £650,000 a year pension.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Darling said the government had no part in negotiating the agreement otherwise it would not have been approved. >>>

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