We are sorry says RBS chief Executive Sir Fred Goodwin

We are sorry says RBS chief Executive Sir Fred Goodwin

We all have our bad days but Royal Bank of Scotland’s chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin wins hands down as he explains to the shareholders why his bank is reporting six month losses of £691m, following write-downs of £5.9bn.

Things can change very fast said Sir Fred; two years ago people wanted to buy shares back, now things are very different. After the write-downs in April, it was obvious to most that RBS would report a loss and most experts thought that they would be much larger than they are, it is a difficult time for Sir Fred but he said he is relieved that the figures are finally public knowledge.

So with all the press speculated about if either Sir Fred or Chairman Tom McKillop will be resigning, Sir Fred answered “I don’t want to do this job forever but right now you find me extremely galvanised to the task in hand,” the pair also apologized for all the pain they have caused their shareholders.

Sir Fred has tried to keep some humor throughout this painful time, when asked what was more difficult about doing his job compared with this time last year he asks, “How long have you got?” “I’m not complaining about it, it’s just that the speed of change is what caught everyone,” Sir Fred says.

Sir Tom suggests that sometime difficult times lets well-run institutions shine, he believes adversity cans sort out who the long-term winners will be.

Do you think that Sir Fred Goodwin should resign? Have your say below.

Source: BBCnews

Read more about UK business news here.

Filed Under: Business NewsMortgage News

Tags: