... A FORUM TO STIMULATE DEBATE ... ... JUST ADD A COMMENT AT ANY ENTRY BELOW... ... FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWN AND VALLEY ...

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Royal Bank of Bradford

The Royal Bank of Scotland has been facing yet more scandals:
RBS’s Sir Howard appointment stirs revolving door concerns - FT.com
RBS suspends another two staff in foreign exchange probe | Reuters

As it faces 'restructuring', the pressure is mounting on the bank 'to do more to support the domestic economy':
Exclusive - RBS restructuring chief to shrink investment bank | Reuters

Meanwhile, there are other ideas for restructuring:
Think tank: break up RBS into 130 locally-run banks | Herald Scotland
Don't privatise RBS – break it up into local banks, urges NEF thinktank | Business | The Guardian


New Economics Foundation
 
Together we own 81% of RBS. Our share as taxpayers came at a heavy price - £45.5 billion – as politicians scrambled to prop up the global financial system in 2008.

You’d expect then that any decision on the bank’s future should put our best interests first. But the Chancellor has repeatedly confirmed his plan is to sell RBS back to the private sector as soon as he can, without considering the alternatives.

Our new report explains why this isn’t the best option for either the bank or the public. Rather than look to make a quick sale, we should use RBS as the building block for a new UK banking system that puts the public interest first.


Breaking up RBS into a network of truly local banks would change the UK’s financial landscape. Not only would it reverse the trend of branch closures – 142 so far this year – but it would generate huge returns for the national economy.

We’ve done the numbers. Had RBS been localised back in 2008, we’d have seen an immediate economic boost of £7.1bn, with another £30.5bn over the next three years.
Our plans would create a bank for every city and county in the UK. The UK would finally benefit from the kind of local banking infrastructure as other leading economies, from Germany to Japan, have enjoyed for years.


Transforming RBS into a network of banks which genuinely serve the needs of local people and businesses would finally start to rebuild trust in our broken banking system. We need a proper debate on the future of our publicly owned bank: please share if you agree.

Best wishes,
Tony Greenham
Head of Finance and Business, NEF


Reforming RBS: local banking for the public good | New Economics Foundation
Turning RBS into local bank will protect us against next financial crisis | Guardian Sustainable Business | The Guardian
.
.
.

No comments: