Banking queries

Published on 19/09/2012 00:00

Regarding HBOS’s “feeding frenzy” before its demise, Mike Underwood (Letters, 17 September) rightly asks where the non-executive directors are and Ray Perman (Perspective, same day) highlights that Peter Cummings’ superiors are not even named, let alone criticised or fined by the Financial Services Authority, our so-called regulator, which four years later has still not fully investigated the scandal.

Answering the unasked question, “where are they now?”, Mr Perman points out that Mr Cummings’ superiors are now in senior public company positions, including in financial services.

Similar questions are relevant for Royal Bank of Scotland’s former board, including Archie Hunter, a past president of his institute and chairman of the RBS audit committee for several years before, during and after its demise as an “independent non-executive director”; but who refused to answer questions from one of your reporters in 2009 as he had not consulted his other “independent” colleagues.

He was chairman of MacFarlane Group until May 2012 and is a director of Edinburgh Fund Managers and Clydeport.

John Birkett

Horseleys Park

St Andrews