UK Bankers "Profoundly Sorry" ...

[Bigmack]

Source: Reuters

UK bankers "profoundly sorry" for series of mistakes

LONDON (Reuters) - A quartet of top British bankers apologized for mistakes that brought Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS to the brink of collapse, saying the sector should rethink its increasingly unpopular habit of paying lavish bonuses.

Politicians said on Tuesday the former bankers were "in denial" about the scale of their mistakes and accused HBOS of ignoring warnings that it was growing too fast, citing evidence supplied by a whistleblower from the bank.

RBS's acquisition of ABN AMRO was "a bad mistake," former Chairman Tom McKillop told the politicians, saying he was sorry the deal -- a major source of RBS's problems -- happened just before the credit crisis shocked banks across the world.

"You've destroyed a great British bank," opposition Conservative politician Michael Fallon told Fred Goodwin, the RBS chief executive ousted after the UK government came to the rescue by taking a 70 percent stake in the bank.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSTRE51946K20090210

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I wonder if we'll ever even get an "I'm sorry" from the scumbag bankers and
assorted financial wizards who got us into this mess.

[edbermac]

1. They're sorry? Reminds me of a Monty Python sketch

Judge: Michael Norman Randall, you have been found guilty of the murder of Arthur Reginald Webster, Charles Patrick Trumpington, Marcel Agnes Bernstein, Lewis Anona Rudd, John Malcolm Kerr, Nigel Sinclair Robinson, Norman Arthur Potter, Felicity Jayne Stone, Jean-Paul Reynard, Rachel Shirley Donaldson, Stephen Jay Greenblatt, Karl-Heinz Mullet, Belinda Anne Ventham, Juan-Carlos Fernandez, Thor Olaf Stensgaard, Lord Kimberrley of Pretoria, Lady Kimberley of Pretoria, The Right Honourable Nigel WarmsIcy Kimberley, Robert Henry Noonan and Felix James Bennett, on or about the morning of the 19th December 1972. Have you anything to say before I pass sentence?

Randall: Yes, sir. I'm very sorry.

Judge: Very sorry!

Randall:Yes, sir. It was a very very bad thing to have done and I'm really very ashamed of myself, I can only say it won't happen again. To have murdered so many people in such a short space of time is really awful, and I really am very, very, very sorry that I did it, and also that I've taken up so much of the court's valuable time listening to the sordid details of these senseless killings of mine. I would particularly like to say, a very personal and sincere 'sorry' to you, m'lud, my lud for my appalling behaviour throughout this trial. I'd also like to say sorry to the police, for putting them to so much trouble for the literally hours of work they've had to put in, collecting evidence and identifying corpses and so forth. You know I think sometimes we ought to realize the difficult and often dangerous work involved in tracking down violent criminals like myself and I'd last like them to know that their fine work is at least appreciated by me.

[Moostache]

2. Shame is a commodity in short supply on this side of the pond...

Good for the Brits.
At least they haven't devolved as far as we have in America.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. HBOS sacked and gagged bank risk whistleblower

HBOS sacked and gagged a senior executive who four years ago warned the board of the bank that they were taking excessive risks, according to evidence given in Parliament this morning.

MPs on the Treasury Select Committee were given details of a submission from the former head of risk at HBOS who claimed that he warned the board repeatedly that they were taking risks with financial stability and consumer protection.

Paul Moore, a former partner of KMPG and head of group regulatory risk at HBOS between 2002 and 2005, accused the bank of "a total failure of all key aspects of corporate governance" and said that he was repeatedly rebuffed and thwarted when he tried to register concern.

In a highly sensitive development he also pointed the finger of blame firmly at Sir James Crosby, the former chief executive of HBOS, who is deputy chairman of the chief City regulator the Financial Services Authority and a senior adviser to the Government.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5701380.ece

Also covered in:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7882119.stm
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/dismissed-executive-warned-hbos-of-risk-1606036.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4582535/Senior-HBOS-executive-sacked-for-warning-of-banking-crisis.html

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Sir James Crosby resigns from FSA after being exposed

Sir James Crosby has resigned as deputy chairman of City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

His departure follows allegations that, when chief executive of bank HBOS, he had sacked a senior manager who claimed the bank was taking on too much risk.

Sir James, who led HBOS from 2001 to 2006, said there was "no substance to the allegations".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7883409.stm

[AlCzervik]

4. when i was in Scotland last March there was a run on one of the banks, looking back

now it was the canary in the coal mine.

[bird gerhl]

5. miread lede as "A quartet of top British wankers apologized for mistakes..."

heh

[tclambert]

6. In America, the bankers expect taxpayers to apologize to them

for making them worry they might not receive their multi-million dollar bonuses for the exemplary job they've done running their struggling enterprises during these trying economic times. Why, did you know that despite their heroic efforts, many banks are failing? Imagine the trauma this causes them, and the embarrassment they must face at the country club when they must face their fellow aristocrats who know they have been associated with failure, a failure they must explain repeatedly is actually the fault of poor people, delinquents who refused to meet their obligations by making their mortgage payments. And then because these poor people have forced so many foreclosures on the market, the residual value of the houses won't cover the remaining loan balances.

Shame on those poor people, now homeless, who caused such uncomfortable moments for our bankers.

[Joe Bacon]

8. Little Anthony needs to put these crooks in the Cornfield!

Oh where is Little Anthony when we need him?????

[Brimon]

9. Not quite an apology

If you read between the lines none of them actually apologised for their personal failings,despite them being Chairmen of their respective institutions.