WE were all sad to see the continuing losses at RBS announced this week ("Royal Bank optimistic despite £3.5bn losses", The Herald, February 27).
UK plc has continued to support this failed enterprise despite losses every year and the negligence of those stewarding it since it had to be rescued. There is a record of issues of trust between it, its customers and the wider economy and yet many of its employees continue to be rewarded with huge bonuses ("RBS chief admits bonuses are 'outrageous' after losses", The Herald, February 27). I understand that more money has had to be set aside to repay customers robbed in the PPI scandal. They have not yet fully settled the costs of the Libor scam and today I see reported that one of the arms of the bank may have been found, like HSBC, to be assisting some better-off customers to evade tax ("Queen's bank facing tax probe by German investigators", The Herald, February 27).
Our position now stems back to the deregulation of banking and the "Big Bang". All traditional parties, the Tories, who set it off, and Labour who carried it on, are culpable in allowing these monolithic companies to become too big to fail. The country still dances around them seven years after they crashed and no decisive action is being taken to remedy the position. Our present politicians are too wedded to the cosy status quo, and jobs for the boys on the side; we need radical action to break the deadlock.
It really is time to draw a line under this enterprise. As it stands RBS is trying to downsize to a core business and move away from investment banking, but not making a very good job of it. A recent report tells us that if it was broken up into numerous smaller banks working on a regional basis it would provide a better overall return for both government and customers.
This is the model that applies throughout Europe where good businesses can get finance without being held to ransom. There would be more local banking services which would be working to help and investing in their customers. Many business customers and ordinary users would welcome a change to smaller banks that really do listen to their customers rather than maximising year-end bonuses at their expense.
DS Blackwood,
1 Douglas Drive East,
Helensburgh.
THE nonsense of the 80% state- owned RBS authorising million-pound bonuses is glaringly highlighted when RBS chief executive Ross McEwan openly agrees such action is "outrageous" . Who is in charge of this failed institution which lurches from year to year into a financial abyss? Certainly staff, customers, shareholders and the general public (as indirect stakeholders) should be appraised as to the future.
Over the past two years something in the region of £12.5 billion has been posted as lost. No business can sustain such downward-spiralling results and continue to trade. Yet amazingly the RBS name still proudly promotes the Six Nations rugby tournament. Understandably many will be unable to reconcile this unnecessary sponsorship task when many interests have been contemptuously kicked into touch as a result of gross mishandling.
Allan C Steele,
22 Forres Avenue, Giffnock.
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