Terry Murden: Safety is the word as RBS hires Crombie

Published on Saturday 23 May 2009 14:12

THE hiring of Sir Sandy Crombie as a non-executive director and the "eyes and ears" of shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland fills one of a number of vacancies at the top of the financial services industry and indicates a trend towards a safety first policy in the search for stability.

Crombie's appointment has been broadly supportive at a time when his personal credit rating is probably at its peak, though not without its black marks.

He has steered Standard Life through some choppy waters and it has retained its independence despite warnings that it would not escape the clutches of a predator much beyond the flotation.

But Crombie's Standard Life has not been without its problems: the Sterling Fund debacle was an embarrassment, and the aborted bid for Resolution made him look indecisive.

The markets were confused by the flip-flopping of strategy from fierce opposition to demutualisation, to strongly embracing the idea; from a dedicated policy of organic growth to pursuing chunky acquisitions. The result was a yo-yoing share price and questions about Crombie's future and his ability to lead a FTSE-100 company.

Some will be surprised that he has survived a difficult two years, but he has defied calls to step down and accusations of being out of his depth by returning some of the more robust figures in the sector.

His experience in dealing with regulators and the government were clearly plus points in his appointment to the RBS board in a sector that will be subject to greater scrutiny. His detractors may need further convincing that he has the City's full support and that after demanding RBS look beyond Scotland for its new board it is again filling its ranks with Edinburgh grandees.

But Crombie's extensive knowledge of the financial services sector together with his personal integrity and an instinct for caution over risk are valuable qualities at this particular time.

RBS is seeking two further non-executive directors as it distances itself from the Sir Fred Goodwin era, and Lloyds Banking Group is looking for a new chairman after Sir Victor Blank confirmed long held suspicions that either he or his chief executive Eric Daniels would step down over concerns that HBOS was a bad deal for Lloyds.

Lord Leitch, the senior non-executive director, does not want the job and attention has switched to, among others, trade minister Mervyn Davies, former chairman of Standard Chartered and an architect of the government's bail-out scheme.

Daniels' own position looks secure despite whispers that he was less enthusiastic about the acquisition of HBOS than his chairman and would also be made to walk the plank. While some shareholders feel bitter about a deal that cost them dearly, Daniels is said to have the full support of UK Financial Investments, the body that controls the taxpayers' interests in the bailed-out banks.

His biggest threat comes from those in Westminster who continue to mount calls for Lloyds to be broken up, though there is much posturing going on that will come to nothing. The task of breaking up Lloyds would be as immense as putting it together and with little to gain.

The main objection is on monopoly grounds, in particular its command of a large slice of the UK savings and mortgage markets. But breaking it up would risk leaving the disaggregated parts at a disadvantage. Lloyds may be large, but it is also burdened by its inherited debt. Whoever is tasked with sorting out the government's own financial worries will want to put Lloyds back into the private sector for a good price that can only be exacted from a business with a competitive edge.

Walsh falling to earth as BA finances falter

WHAT a mess at British Airways. A record loss has led to desperate measures, including a decision by top executives to work without pay for a month. There will be more cost-cutting and job losses.

Chief executive Willie Walsh could not have been gloomier about prospects, not only for the airline but the global economy, claiming he could not see any signs of recovery anywhere.

It's unfortunate for Walsh and BA after achieving considerable progress in the last year for punctuality and service and only a year after reporting a record profit.

The recession and high fuel prices have savaged BA's finances and there is a worrying rise in debt and its pension deficit. It's so bad that Walsh can give no guidance on trading prospects which are expected to get worse before they show any sign of getting better.