RBS has just posted losses for last year - and they're as bad as we expected. A year after making a profit of £10 billion in 2007, it made a loss of £24billion.
I don't envy the job the new RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester has to do but having spoken to him, I feel he's committed to trying to turn it around.
Make no mistake it's going to be a hell of a job to do but he's made a start on bonuses and I hope he gets support by others showing goodwill.
And there's two people who spring immediately to mind.
What really gets me - and I expect I'm not alone in this - is how the hell the former RBS Chief Executive Sir Fred 'The Shred' Goodwin can claim without a guilty conscience a £650,000 annual pension a year from the age of 50.
His greed and reckless nature got us into this mess and necessitated us bailing out the bank to the tune of £20 billion to try and keep people in their homes and jobs.
RBS, UK Financial Investments (the body that oversees the public's shareholdings in the bailed-out banks) and the Government have all asked Sir Fred to reconsider his pension package. He's supposed to be 'considering it.'
Another person who also should be 'considering' their actions is former Grand Prix driver Sir Jackie Stewart. RBS has already announced that they're slashing their sports sponsorship which was costing them £100m a year and pulling out of Formula 1.
But Sir Jackie - who is reportedly still a tax exile - has publicly refused to renegotiate his reported RBS sponsorship contract of £4m.
I know that Sir Jackie never had a problem lobbying Government for the impoverished sport that is Formula 1. In fact, as he lived next door to Chequers, he was always bending Tony's ear for a bypass for Silverstone. I should know - I was transport secretary at the time!
So let me now lobby you Sir Jackie and Sir Fred (talk about having a bad couple of knights.) The British public owns the vast majority of RBS - our share might even go up to 95% - and I'm sure I speak for the majority of my fellow shareholders in saying that we find both deals both outrageous and unacceptable.
I personally think we should shred Fred's pension and pitstop Jackie's contract but I need your help.
I've just launched an online survey and sent it to the 31,000 people who signed our Give Up the Bonus petition to gauge their thoughts. Please feel free to sign it too. I will be making the results public later on today.
Let's show them what people power can do and give Sir Fred and Sir Jackie a real knightmare.
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Some people are saying the government can't step in and legislate to shred the pension - if you're interested I've set out my argument for why it can.
Fancy a ten minute rule bill?
http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2009/03/04/grabbing-sir-fred-goodwins-pension/
http://headoflegal.blogspot.com/2009/03/grabbing-sir-fred-goodwins-pension.html
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/brown-refuses-to-hand-back-pension-200902271606/
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/aha-ha-ha-ha-ha%2c-says-goodwin-200902261605/
I genuinely can't believe I just read the above. Unreal.
Perhaps action could be taken against the directors of RBS who agreed to Sir Fred's early retirement and consequent increase in pension pot of £8 million for breaching their fiduciary duty to shareholders - or could that embarrass the government
Anyway, as I said on the guardian, the people who did the deed should be behind bars. Their crimes have had an impact on every family in the country (and beyond).
@ Tim Davis... John's pension is irrelevant. He was a public servant who served his constituency and country for many years. Whether you agree with his shade of politics is neither here nor there.
I can't figure this out. Whilst I agree Jackie Stewart should morally stop his contract, what about Zara Philips, Andy Murray and so on. They are not short of a few bob.!!!!! Why on earth do these Spnsorship people think we are influenced to join a bank by seeing their names at any sporting event is beyond me anyway.
Even the select committee got Sir Fred to talk about his pension entitlement--but not one of them asked HOW MUCH HE WOULD GET---So we all knew he was getting a pension but not £690,000pa.
Robert Peston I believe had latched on to this and done his investigation to announce on the day of Banks losses.
Sir Fred has a moral obligation to renegotiate with the Government on the discretionary amount attached to his pension.
SIR FRED WE WANT YOU TO RECONSIDER--SPEAK TO THE PM--
DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE TAXPAYERS WHO ARE SACRIFICING WITH THE LOSS OF JOBS BECAUSE OF THE RECKLESS BEHAVOUR OF OUR BANKERS
May I ask what your pension is?