http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2012/01/03/its-back-to-the-future-for-rbss-investment-bank/ Wed, 22 May 2013 21:12:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2012/01/03/its-back-to-the-future-for-rbss-investment-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-8742 pk46 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:49:56 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/?p=8335#comment-8742 Let's get this straight, County Natwest was not a great success so it was "forced" into global expansion, where it played a major role in blowing up RBS. So now RBS should go back to the County Natwest model? Here's a simpler idea, run RBS as retail bank with a large treasury function and forget the mad ideas of the last 10 years that it can ever be an investment bank. Let’s get this straight, County Natwest was not a great success so it was “forced” into global expansion, where it played a major role in blowing up RBS. So now RBS should go back to the County Natwest model? Here’s a simpler idea, run RBS as retail bank with a large treasury function and forget the mad ideas of the last 10 years that it can ever be an investment bank.

]]> http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2012/01/03/its-back-to-the-future-for-rbss-investment-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-8730 GJenks Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:01:34 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/?p=8335#comment-8730 RBS's investment bank is finished. As a former employee of GBM I can attest to the intellectual inertia that has suffocated the place for the last few years - especially in the management and delivery (or lack of) of its investment programmes. Too many of its leaders are fiddling while it burns. Hester's solution was brilliant but was built on the premise that RBS would be able to maintain a reasonable level of investment banking revenue. That it has not been able to is an indication that GBM has run out of ideas. And sadly its fellow divisions (all profitable) and the taxpayer are the ones that are suffering. RBS’s investment bank is finished. As a former employee of GBM I can attest to the intellectual inertia that has suffocated the place for the last few years – especially in the management and delivery (or lack of) of its investment programmes. Too many of its leaders are fiddling while it burns. Hester’s solution was brilliant but was built on the premise that RBS would be able to maintain a reasonable level of investment banking revenue. That it has not been able to is an indication that GBM has run out of ideas. And sadly its fellow divisions (all profitable) and the taxpayer are the ones that are suffering.

]]>