Making It Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS and the men who blew up the British economy

Iain Martin's account and analysis of the rise and fall of The Royal Bank of Scotland, and included in the hubris, Fred (The Shred) Goodwin, "Making It Happen", leaves no doubt that the underlying all-pervasive problem was allowing and encouraging an accountant, the said Fred Goodwin to be in executive control of a trade viz banking that as a professional accountant he had little or no grounding, experience or aptitude in.Whist a good finance man and also a first class project manager as he exhibited with the integration of The NatWest Group into RBS, he alas was woefully inadequate to be a leading banker in charge of a large banking group, and he did not take the final few rungs up the ladder to move from 'dotting i's and crossing t's' to become a fully fledged canny Scottish Banker. He was far more at home burying himself in the minutiae of relatively trivial nit-picking such as office tidiness, colour of company cars, office design etc than the more vital banking fundamentals such as prudent lending policies, proper matched funding of its liabilities, and control of the investment banking, and other activities. RBS borrowed far too much, and lent the money very unwisely, and blundered headlong into the highly 'toxic' Collateralized Debt Obligation casino arena.The author does, however, have a degree of sympathy for Fred Goodwin and asks 'why should he have all the blames, as a lightening rod for everybody else?'. There were plenty of opportunities to stop him, and yet hardly anyone at RBS really tried. Why? Money had quite a lot to do with it, with many staff claiming to be too scared of him to give him bad news or stand up to him, where in reality their reluctance to say anything related to the fact that they were trousering millions of pounds in salary, bonuses and share incentives.This is an excellent, well written, informative and importantly a very readable book that manages admirably to give good perspective and balance to the circumstances leading up to the banks's insolvency and bailout by the British taxpayer. Yet again the weaknesses and gaping flaws in the Regulatory system and it's so-called 'responsible executives', are brought to the fore, with being named and shamed, high up on the list being the then Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King.Presumably because of legal restrictions, scant mention is made of Mr Goodwin's affair with a high ranking RBS female executive, which occurred over the period when RBS was coming under severe pressure and needed firm, constant and concentrated management from it's CEO, and may well have been an unwarranted and catastrophic diversion at that time. The fact that a simple 'google' will readily name the woman involved and lead to a long video featuring her, illustrates the uselessness of the so-called super injunctions that the affluent resort to in the belief that their adulterous liaisons will be kept under wraps or should I say duvets!

I found this book utterly compelling. Thoroughly researched and well-written, it sets out the background to the world-shattering events leading to the failure of one of the world's largest financial institutions. Reading at times like a thriller crossed with a Greek tragedy, the pressure builds in an almost unbearable tension until the climax which is all the more poignant as we actually lived through it only very recently. My only quibble and the reason why I haven't given this book five stars is that the first few chapters are written in the 'historic present' tense, i.e. it's history and we all know it's in the past but it's written in the present tense so as to make it seem more intense. This is really irritating and the story of the catastrophic collapse of RBS does not require this silly device.

Great context charting the history of RBS and Fred Goodwin setting up a recurring Emperor's New Clothes theme throughout the book - an insatiable desire for growth at all costs starting by turning Bank Staff into Sales People and being the master "integrators". Terrific read - pacy account of turning a relatively insignificant Scottish Bank (albeit regarded as a national institution) into a major international player recognised alongside JP Morgan et al.The scary thing well - illuminated by Iain Martin is the countless opportunities to stop this juggernaut that were missed and If history teaches us anything it is that there is the undoubted capacity for this to happen again. Board Scrutiny and Corporate Governance is portrayed as shockingly absent as was the Regulator who was hopelessly inadequate. Goodwin comes across as being highly complex, full of contradictions,driven, intelligent and gifted in a number of areas - Integration, project planning and getting his own way. Martin exposes a darker side of bullying, a detailed attention to detail (almost myopic)in areas which were less relevant and an ability to blank technical components of the business which he could not understand (whilst taking to task staff who could not reach the huge targets set for them). However, whilst painting a detailed picture of 'Fred the Shred' Iain Martin does not spare others that were involved - the two hapless Chairmen - Mathewson and McKillop and the individuals that make up the Board, the Regulator and indeed - Gordon Brown himself is highlighted as being a contributor through the easing of regulation and arrangements that hopelessly negated liquidity. The Book does earnestly attempt to evaluate why only Goodwin and Johnny Cameron (the Head of the Investment Banking arm - Global Banking and Markets) were the subject of some retribution - although no real conclusion is reached. The author does well to highlight those who lost heavily including long-serving dedicated hardworking staff and through the accounts documented by Martin - the pain is quite palpable. On the numbers - Martin does well highlighting the important figures - the near £46bn bailout and the level of Balance Sheet assets held by RBS and the other UK banks relative to the UK GDP - you get the significance of how "bust" the system had become and Martin's account of Goodwin's presentation to a Banker's convention organised by Merrill Lynch in London during which the RBS share price had dropped by some 40% within his 30 minute presentation was by the end of his speech was gripping stuff. Nearing the end you got a real fear of a run on the Banks although only a hint of the consequences. Darling and HM Treasury actually comes out of this well within the book in the way they dealt with the potential melt down of the UK banking system but Martin does not spare Gordon Brown for setting the culture that precipitated such events. A great read - some terrific investigated journalism and well put together highlighting a consistency of behaviours that leaves you with the feeling that you are witnessing a car crash in slow motion!

Great copy, as described. Arrived quickly!

Good read...This book gives a perspective on RBS, along with its history.A bit more detailed narrative could have been on the years approaching sub-prime & the story around it.

This is a thrilling tale of financial collapse and a must read for fans of books about company wrong doings during the GFC or who enjoy books about company falls like Enron. This book is a nice blend of business failings combined with personal tales of company culture and the people involved. For those without business knowledge it is still an easy read and even if you don't get every detail of the business dealings the gist of it is clear - hubris and greed. An enjoyable book.

日本語版と合わせて、見比べながら読みました。臨場感あっておもしろかったです。

Good book highlighting the greed for power and money and fame. Goodwin comes across as the sociopath he really is. God save us from the likes of him and his cohorts. These people hadn't really got a clue but it took disaster and the loss of millions and billions for the poor suckers (like me) to find out.