The Sunday Times has a piece today castigating Sir Fred Goodwin, erstwhile boss of RBS (curiously, despite what the press tell you, I’ve never heard him called ‘Fred the Shred’ in the bank – he was always known by his initials, FAG, then SFAG after his knighthood). No doubt SFAG is a convenient scapegoat, but:

• what about the carpetbaggers who destroyed most of the building societies in the UK in their search for ‘windfalls’ – money for nothing?
• what about the rate touts who spent years moving their debts from one interest free credit card to another – money for nothing?
• what about the TV celebrities who encouraged daytime TV viewers to consolidate all their loans into another loan – and maybe add on a wee bit for a holiday – money for nothing?
• what about the successive UK governments with their PFIs and their PPIs – keeping voters sweet today but piling up debts for the future – money for nothing?

Banks claiming to hold the ethical high ground do exist (the Co-op, Triodos, etc) – but they are minority players. Why? they have never offered ‘money for nothing’. SFAG’s nose may have been in the trough, but the reason RBS grew so dramatically under him is because wallowing in the trough became the accepted and eulogised way of life in the UK and beyond. SFAG was good at what he did, and that’s what his shareholders, his peers, his government friends wanted him to do.

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