RE: Outrage11 May 2021 18:19
The loss to the taxpayer occurred in 2008, at the point of bailout, due to the failure of the entire financial system (of which RBS Group was a poster child). But it was worth doing to prevent the UK economy from collapsing.
The fact that UK Government is able to claw back any of that rescue money at all is somewhat of a bonus thanks to the fact that funds weren't just given out, but provided in exchange for company shares. So I would try to see it in that light, unless you take the position that the Bank was never bailed out and HMT simply made a £45bn investment that performed badly (in which case be as mad as you like about the shares selling for less than £5). And the reason, by the way, that the shares are not worth a fiver today is because, in a totally self-defeating condition of the bailout, the Bank was ordered by the EU to sell off highly profitable parts of the Group: Worldpay (bought by FIS, shareprice now $150), Citizens Financial Group (SP $50), Direct Line Insurance Group (SP £2.90). If it had retained these businesses it would be swimming in profits, the SP would be in a completely different place, and the Government might well have already sold out of NWG entirely at a profit.
As for Goodwin; you can't just put people in jail for being bad at their jobs. There needs to be a criminal offence, and there wasn't one. In fact, to the contrary, the UK Government championed the light-touch regulation of financial services which provided tacit approval for much increased risk appetite and running down capital reserves to bare minimum that he oversaw. Like anyone else found to be incompetent he paid with his job, his reputation and pretty much anything else you can think of (except his freedom and his pension). IMHO :-)
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