Fred Goodwin#Size of pension

Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Goodwin is the son of a Scottish electricianThe Times, 2 November 2003, [https://archive.today/20110611164751/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article1101528.ece?token=null&offset=24&page=3 Special Report: Is RBS’s Fred the Shred too good to be true?] and was the first of his family to go to university,{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/2788989/Sir-Fred-Goodwin-faces-Royal-Bank-of-Scotland-woes.html |title=Sir Fred Goodwin faces Royal Bank of Scotland woes |newspaper=Telegraph |date=28 April 2008 |access-date=1 March 2009 | location=London}} attending Paisley Grammar School before studying law at Glasgow University. He joined accountants Touche Ross, and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1983. Between 1985 and 1987, he was part of a Touche Ross management consultant team at Rosyth Dockyard, and became a partner in Touche Ross in 1988. He was appointed a director of Short Brothers, and tasked with preparing the largest industrial employer in Northern Ireland for its 1989 privatisation.The Scotsman, 6 August 2000, [http://business.scotsman.com/bankinginsurance/Why-Fred-is-getting-credit.2235558.jp Why Fred is getting credit] For Touche Ross he headed the worldwide liquidation of Bank of Credit and Commerce International after its collapse in July 1991. At 32, Goodwin was in charge of 1,000 people with teams from London to Abu Dhabi and the Cayman Islands that eventually returned over half the money from one of the most complicated, high-profile financial frauds ever.The Scotsman, 18 April 2005, [http://business.scotsman.com/royalbankofscotland/How-a-highstakes-poker-game.2619221.jp How a high-stakes poker game stoked a bitter banking rivalry] The extent of his role in the liquidation of Bank of Credit and Commerce International was questioned by finance journalist Ian Fraser.Daily Record, 2 June 2014, [https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/revealed-how-shamed-rbs-chief-3634832 Revealed: How shamed RBS chief Fred Goodwin lied to land first top job at Clydesdale Bank]

His move into banking came through his work at Touche Ross with the National Australia Bank, contributing due diligence to its 1987 takeover of Clydesdale Bank from the then Midland Bank and again with its 1995 takeover of Yorkshire Bank. During work on the latter he caught the eye of National Australia Bank executive Don Argus, and was invited to become deputy chief executive of Clydesdale in 1995, and as per his "five-second rule", accepted on the spot rising to chief executive of National Australia's British banking operations in 1996.{{cite web|url=http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/F-L/Goodwin-Fred-A-1959.html |title=Fred A. Goodwin 1959— – Out of oblivion and into the spotlight, Fred the shred |publisher=Referenceforbusiness.com |access-date=1 March 2009}} Around this time he gained the moniker "Fred the Shred" from City financiers, reflecting a reputation for ruthlessly generating cost savings and efficiencies whilst at Clydesdale.

He joined Royal Bank of Scotland in 1998 as deputy CEO to then-CEO Sir George Mathewson, who had ambitions to make RBS a major player rather than a national bank. RBS made waves in 2000 with its £23.6 billion takeover of NatWest, a bank three times its size. Although Goodwin's predecessor Mathewson led the deal, it was Goodwin's diligence and ability to impress investors which secured it against fierce competition from the Bank of Scotland. The Sunday Times wrote that "The NatWest deal was the making of Goodwin," with Goodwin promoted to CEO in January 2001,{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bank-of-scotland-ups-natwest-bid-to-pound26bn-740658.html |newspaper=Independent |title=Bank of Scotland ups NatWest bid to £26bn |first=Andrew |last=Garfield |date=27 November 1999 |access-date=2 May 2020 }} soon after it was secured, dedicated to continuing Mathewson's vision.Sunday Times, 8 February 2009, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110611164903/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5683436.ece How Fred shredded RBS] Goodwin lived up to his reputation, cutting 18,000 jobs by merging parts of RBS and NatWest.

Image:RBS Fleet Street.jpg, London – trading under the historic name Child & Co.]]

After the purchase of NatWest, RBS made a string of further acquisitions around the world, including the purchase of Irish mortgage provider First Active and UK insurers Churchill Insurance and Direct Line. During negotiations with Credit Suisse over the acquisition of Churchill, it is said that Goodwin maintained silence for an hour at lunch with Credit Suisse's CEO, supporting his demand for indemnity against any potential losses from the associated The Accident Group, which would collapse soon after. He got his way. RBS also bulked up its US Citizens Financial Group, Inc. arm with a string of further deals. Then in May 2004, RBS said it would purchase Charter One Financial Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio for $10.5 billion. The deal, at a price "widely considered too high"The Journal, 26 January 2009, [http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/5295-rbss-fred-goodwin-the-worlds-worst-banker RBS's Fred Goodwin: the world's worst banker?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304173343/http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/5295-rbss-fred-goodwin-the-worlds-worst-banker |date=4 March 2009 }} spread the RBS's banking web across the Midwest for the first time, and made its U.S. banking operations No. 7 in the United States.RBS Press Release, 4 May 2004, [http://www.rbs.com/media03.asp?id=MEDIA_CENTRE/PRESS_RELEASES/2004/MAY/04_charter_one_b Acquisition of Charter One for $10.5 billion (£5.8 billion)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022154452/http://www.rbs.com/media03.asp?id=MEDIA_CENTRE%2FPRESS_RELEASES%2F2004%2FMAY%2F04_charter_one_b |date=22 October 2008 }}

From the time that Goodwin took over as chief executive until 2007, RBS's assets quadrupled, its cost-to-income ratio improved markedly, and its profits soared. In 2006, pre-tax profits climbed 16% to £9.2 billion with significant growth coming from its investment banking business.{{cite news|title= RBS sees profits rise to £9.2bn|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6406879.stm|date=1 March 2007|work=BBC News|quote=The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reported a pre-tax profit of £9.2 billion for 2006 – 16% up on the previous year ... RBS said much of its gains had come from its investment and corporate banking division.|location=London|access-date=4 March 2009}}{{cite news|title=Factbox: RBS set for record UK loss – where it went wrong|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSTRE50I3ZL20090119|last=Slater|first= Steve|date=19 January 2009|publisher=Thomson Reuters|quote=RBS ramped up in investment banking over a number of years, and its global banking and markets arm delivered a 3.8 billion pound profit in 2006, 40 percent of the group total.|location=New York|access-date=4 March 2009}} By 2008 RBS was the fifth-largest bank in the world by market capitalisation. One of the factors in its rise was its enthusiasm for supporting leveraged buyouts. In 2008 it lent $9.3bn, more than double its nearest rival.Wall Street Journal blog, 7 January 2009 [https://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/01/07/royal-bank-of-scotland-wins-a-buyout-lending-crown/ Royal Bank of Scotland Wins a Buyout-Lending Crown]

However, following investor unrest in the build-up to RBS's acquisition of a $1.6bn minority stake in Bank of China in 2005, Goodwin was criticised by some RBS shareholders for putting global expansion ahead of short-term financial returns. Between 2002 and 2005, the share price plateaued at around £17 per share, having nearly trebled between February 2000 and May 2002.The Sunday Herald, 17 November 2005, [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20051127/ai_n15871513 Goodwin's Turning Point] Goodwin was accused of megalomania by some shareholders, as reported by Dresdner Kleinwort analyst James Eden (who said he thought the label was 'unwarranted').The Independent, 5 August 2005, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/rbs-chief-sir-fred-rejects-charge-of-megalomania-501527.html RBS chief Sir Fred rejects charge of 'megalomania']{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Following the Bank of China deal, he was forced to promise RBS shareholders he would not indulge in any further big acquisitions and focus instead on growing the group organically.

However, in early 2007, Dutch bank ABN Amro was under pressure from hedge funds, including Chris Hohn of the hedge fund TCI, to break itself up in order to maximise shareholder value. ABN chief executive Rijkman Groenink suspected RBS of acting in concert with the hedge fund Tosca, which was chaired by former RBS Chairman Mathewson and recommended the takeover bid of an RBS consortium, against the proposed merger with Barclays Bank.The Daily Telegraph, 9 October 2007, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2817406/RBS-on-brink-of-declaring-victory-in-ABN-battle.html RBS on brink of declaring victory in ABN battle] Goodwin arranged a consortium of RBS, Fortis and former RBS shareholders Grupo Santander, to purchase the assets of ABN Amro and break them up in a three-way split. According to the proposed deal, RBS would take over ABN's Chicago operations, LaSalle Bank, and ABN's wholesale operations; while Santander would take the Brazilian operations and Fortis the Dutch operations. In a manoeuvre "labelled in all quarters as a poison pill" ABN Amro agreed to sell key RBS target LaSalle to Bank of America for $21bn, but in July 2007 the consortium offered the same $98bn for ABN's remaining assets, with a higher cash component (93%).Marketwatch, 16 July 2007, [http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/timeline-takeover-battle-abn-amro/story.aspx?guid={E57CC893-1C7F-45F9-B16E-9CF0009983B0} Timeline of the battle for ABN Amro] The deal was struck in October 2007, just before the 2008 financial crisis, with Barclays withdrawing its EUR61bn bid and ABN's shareholders endorsing the EUR71bn RBS takeover. Coming after the nationalisation of Northern Rock due to the freezing of the wholesale money markets, the deal proved the final straw for RBS, as it severely weakened its balance sheet not only through the size of the acquisition but due to ABN Amro's substantial exposure to the US subprime mortgage crisis.

Goodwin's strategy of aggressive expansion primarily through acquisition, including the takeover of ABN Amro, eventually proved disastrous and led to the near-collapse of RBS in the 2008 financial crisis. The €71 billion (£55 billion) ABN Amro deal (of which RBS's share was £10 billion{{cite news|url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/Fred-Goodwin-The-39boy-from.4587548.jp|title=Fred Goodwin: The 'boy from Paisley' who found himself at centre of a global storm|date=14 October 2008|work=The Scotsman |location=UK|access-date=14 October 2008}}) in particular stretched the bank's capital position – £16.8 billion of RBS's record £24.1 billion loss is attributed to writedowns relating to the takeover of ABN Amro.

It was not, however, the sole source of RBS's problems, as RBS was exposed to the liquidity crisis in a number of ways, particularly through US subsidiaries including RBS Greenwich Capital. Although the takeover of NatWest launched RBS's meteoric rise, it came with an investment bank subsidiary, Greenwich NatWest. RBS was unable to dispose of it as planned as a result of the involvement of the NatWest Three with the collapsed energy trader Enron. {{Clarify|date=February 2012}} However the business (now RBS Greenwich Capital) started making money, and under pressure of comparison with rapidly growing competitors such as Barclays Capital, saw major expansion in 2005–7, not least in private equity loans and in the sub-prime mortgage market. It became one of the top three underwriters of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs).CNN, 22 April 2008 [https://money.cnn.com/2008/04/22/news/newsmakers/rbs.goodwin.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008042212 "RBS chief gets off scot-free"] This increased exposure to the eventual "credit crunch" contributed to RBS's financial problems.

The third contributor to RBS's problems was its liquidity position. From a position around 2002 where the bank was essentially 'fully funded' (i.e. was funding its lending positions fully from deposits gathered from customers), the rapid growth in lending within the GBM (Global Banking and Markets) division led to a reliance on external wholesale funding. The combination of this, along with the weak equity capital position, and the massive exposure to losses on CDOs via Greenwich, were the factors that destroyed RBS.[http://www.slate.com/id/2205753/ Who's the world's worst banker?] by Daniel Gross, Slate magazine] The bank experienced severe financial problems, and attempted to shore up its balance sheet with a £12 billion share issue in April 2008, one of the largest in UK corporate history. The attempt to raise an additional £7 billion capital by selling off insurers Churchill and Direct Line failed due to lack of interest in the context of the global liquidity crisis.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} RBS was forced in October 2008 to rely on a UK Government bank rescue package to support a shareholder recapitalisation of the bank, which resulted in the government owning a majority of the shares. Following two rights issues in 2008, Goodwin resigned as Chief Executive.

On 13 October 2008, as part of the arrangement for government support (of which Goodwin said "This isn't a negotiation, it's a drive-by shooting"The Times, 20 January 2009, [https://archive.today/20110612114058/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5549510.ece Hubris to nemesis: how Sir Fred Goodwin became the ‘world’s worst banker’]), it was announced that Goodwin was to stand down as CEO, to be replaced by Stephen Hester.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7666647.stm|title= Bank chiefs quit after rescue bid |date=13 October 2008|work=BBC News|access-date=14 October 2008}} Goodwin formally left RBS on 1 January 2009.The Daily Telegraph, 26 February 2009, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/4840512/Sir-Fred-Goodwin-refuses-to-return-pension.html Sir Fred Goodwin refuses to return pension]{{Cite web |title=Final days of Fred Goodwin's RBS reign revealed |url=https://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/financial/final-days-of-fred-goodwin-s-rbs-reign-revealed-1-3087747 |website=www.scotsman.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228161908/https://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/financial/final-days-of-fred-goodwin-s-rbs-reign-revealed-1-3087747 |archive-date=28 December 2019 }}

The share price, when Goodwin became CEO of RBS, in January 2001, was 442p. After reaching £18 a share (equivalent to £6 per share after each share was split into three in May 2007{{cite web|url=http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:RBS.L&display=discussion&id=3555819&action=detail|title=Discussion|website=Interactive Investor}}), on the day of his departure it was announced that the share price was 65.70pThe Scotsman, 14 October 2008, [http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Fred-Goodwin-The-39boy-from.4587548.jp Fred Goodwin: The 'boy from Paisley' who found himself at centre of a global storm] reflecting share buybacks, rights issues as well as market valuation. Despite these developments, the Daily Telegraph insisted that "his grasp of finance is in the Alpha class" and that he was "unlikely to be in the growing queue of jobless bankers" for long.The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 2008, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/3185253/Sir-Fred-Goodwin-shredded-by-ABN-takeover.html Sir Fred Goodwin shredded by ABN takeover ] In 2008/9, the RBS group was effectively nationalised: the UK Government owns nearly 70% of the ordinary shares of the company owing to its enormous debts. By January 2009, the share price was more than 98% down from its February 2007 peak.

During Goodwin's tenure as CEO he attracted criticism for lavish spending, including expenditure on the construction of a £350 million headquarters at Gogarburn outside Edinburgh, opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005The Scotsman, 14 September 2005, [http://business.scotsman.com/royalbankofscotland/Queen-opens-350m-bank-HQ.2661126.jp Queen opens £350m bank HQ] (described by one commentator as "comically expensive"FT Alphaville 18 April 2008 [http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/04/18/12427/sir-fred-goodwin-2001-2008/ Sir Fred Goodwin 2001–2008]), and a $500m headquarters in the US begun in 2006,Slate, 1 December 2008 [http://www.slate.com/id/2205753/ Who's the World's Worst Banker?] as well as the use of a Dassault Falcon 900 jet owned by RBS leasing subsidiary Lombard for occasional corporate travel.The Times, 6 April 2004, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110612114038/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article1056391.ece Banking star brought down to earth over jet-set perk]

Under Goodwin, "access to the RBS Executive Wing used to be extremely difficult, even for those who had enjoyed long careers at the bank". His "penthouse-style office on the top level was a staggering 20 metres long", being "so large that it has since been split in two [after Goodwin's departure) and still comfortably accommodates the bank’s current chairman Sir Howard Davies, CEO Ross McEwan and their staff". Goodwin's "hatred of mess and any form of disorder" led to the bank implementing sloping-top filing cabinets to prevent employees from placing items at the top of the cabinets.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/rbs-former-ceo-fred-goodwin-kisses-goodbye-to-his-executive-suite-as-it-opens-up-to-house-innovative-10517211.html|title=Fred Goodwin's former RBS Executive Suite is opening up to house start-ups|website=Independent.co.uk|date=25 September 2015}}

In February 2009, RBS reported that while Goodwin was at the helm it had posted a loss of £24.1 billion, the biggest loss in UK corporate history. His responsibility for the expansion of RBS, which led to the losses, has drawn widespread criticism. During questioning by the Treasury Select Committee of the House of Commons on 10 February 2009, it emerged that Goodwin had no technical bank training and no formal banking qualifications.{{cite web |url=http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2488353.0.Exchiefs_of_Royal_Bank_of_Scotland_and_HBOS_admitted_to_having_no_formal_banking_qualifications.php |title=Ex-chiefs of Royal Bank of Scotland And HBOS Admitted To Having No Formal Banking Qualifications|work=The Herald|access-date=27 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304140453/http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2488353.0.Exchiefs_of_Royal_Bank_of_Scotland_and_HBOS_admitted_to_having_no_formal_banking_qualifications.php |archive-date=4 March 2009 }}

In January 2009, The Guardian's City editor, Julia Finch, identified him as one of twenty-five people who were at the heart of the financial meltdown.{{cite news|author=Julia Finch|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/jan/26/road-ruin-recession-individuals-economy |title=Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown ... | Business |work=The Guardian |location=London |date= 26 January 2009|access-date=27 February 2009 }} Nick Cohen described Goodwin in The Observer as "the characteristic villain of our day", who made £20m from RBS and left the taxpayer "with an unlimited liability for the cost of cleaning up the mess".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jan/18/nick-cohen-middle-class|title=It's not the poor the middle class really fear|last=Cohen|first=Nick|date=18 January 2009|work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=20 January 2009 }} An online column by Daniel Gross labelled Goodwin "The World's Worst Banker",{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/171688/page/1 |title=Economy: The World's Worst Banker | Newsweek Voices – Daniel Gross |work=Newsweek |date=18 December 2008 |access-date=27 February 2009}} a phrase repeated elsewhere in the media. Gordon Prentice MP argued that his knighthood should be revoked as it is "wholly inappropriate and anomalous for someone to retain such a reward in these circumstances."{{cite web|url=http://www.politics.co.uk/news/economy-and-finance/ex-rbs-chief-should-lose-knighthood--$1267707.htm |title=Ex-RBS chief 'should lose knighthood' |publisher=Politics.co.uk |access-date=27 February 2009}} A Labour MP from Scotland, Jim Sheridan, repeated the suggestion, and added that the police should investigate the activities of senior bankers.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7916521.stm |title=Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | Call to strip title from Sir Fred |work=BBC News |date= 28 February 2009|access-date=1 March 2009}}

In September 2011, Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time of the RBS collapse, noted in leaked excerpts from his upcoming book, Back From The Brink: 1,000 Days at No 11, that Goodwin behaved "as if he was off to play a game of golf" while officials struggled to prevent a meltdown. Darling describes the secret discussions which led to the Labour government effectively nationalising RBS and Goodwin being heavily criticised for his management style and conduct and wrote that Goodwin "deserved to be a pariah".

Media and government criticism increased on disclosure in February 2009 of the size of Goodwin's pension. The treasury minister Lord Myners had indicated to RBS that there should be "no reward for failure",{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7920703.stm |title=Politics | Myners faces pensions questions |work=BBC News |date=10 October 2008 |access-date=4 March 2009}} but Goodwin's pension entitlement, represented by a notional fund of £8 million, was doubled, to a notional fund of £16 million or more, because under the terms of the scheme he was entitled to receive, at age 50, benefits which would otherwise have been available to him only if he had worked until age 60.The Guardian, 26 February, [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/feb/26/sir-fred-goodwin-royalbankofscotlandgroup Ex-RBS chief Goodwin faces legal challenge to £693k pension]

Sir Philip Hampton, RBS's new chairman, stated that as a result Goodwin is drawing £693,000 a year (later revised to £703,000{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7921778.stm|title=Business | Goodwin's pension hits £703,000 |work=BBC News |date=10 October 2008|access-date=3 March 2009}} due to Goodwin working an extra month in the new financial yearThe Guardian, 9 March 2009, [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/mar/09/fred-goodwin-pension Fred Goodwin netted £10k extra a year for one month's work]), and disclosed that under the RBS pension scheme Goodwin is entitled to draw the pension already, at age 50, because he had been asked to leave employment early, rather than having been dismissed. A pensions expert suggested that this meant Goodwin had received a substantial payoff from his early retirement, as it would cost around £25 million to buy such a pension and his pension 'pot' amounted to £16 million. When the matter became public in late February 2009, Goodwin defended his decision to refuse to reduce his pension entitlement in a letter to Lord Myners on 26 February,The Guardian, 26 February 2009, [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/feb/26/sir-fred-goodwin-letter In full: Sir Fred Goodwin's letter] (scan) pointing out that on leaving in October 2008 he had given up a contractual 12-month notice period worth around £1.29 million and share options worth around £300,000.The Sunday Times, 1 March 2009 [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5822288.ece Payback time for culture of greed]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In March 2009 Lord Myners revealed that part of the reason Goodwin's pension was so large was that RBS treated him as having joined the pension scheme from age 20 (instead of 40, when he actually joined) and ignored contributions to his pension from previous employment.The Guardian, 17 March 2009, [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/mar/17/fred-goodwin-pension-lord-myners City minister reveals 'extraordinary' details of Goodwin's pension]

Stephen Timms, a government finance minister, protested publicly about the matter. He said that it would be referred to the UK Financial Investments Limited.BBC, 26 February 2009, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7912651.stm Goodwin pension stance condemned] The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, ordered lawyers to explore legal avenues to recover the money, – though the legal options appear to be limitedThe Guardian, 27 February 2009, [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/feb/27/goodwin-pension-legal-options What are the legal options?] – and Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared that "a very substantial part of it [Goodwin's pension] should be returned."The Guardian, 27 February 2009, [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/feb/27/prescott-goodwin Angry Brown will recoup some of Goodwin's pension if law allows] Former deputy PM John Prescott called on the government to withdraw Goodwin's pension and tell Goodwin to "sue if you dare." Liberal Democrats Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said that "What the government could do is say that if the company had gone bust, which it would have had it not been a bank, he would have been entitled to a compassionate payout of £27,000 a year, and if he does not like that he could sue." Cable added that Goodwin "obviously has got no sense of shame."{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7914993.stm |title=Politics | Brown vows to claw pension back |work=BBC News |date= 27 February 2009|access-date=27 February 2009}}

In evidence to the Treasury Select Committee on 3 March 2009, John Kingman, CEO of UK Financial Investments Ltd, the company set up to manage the government's holdings in banks, directly blamed the Royal Bank of Scotland board for awarding its former CEO a discretionary pension. Kingman said that the government was aware of the size of the pension pot in October 2008 (before UKFI was established), but that "what the government was not told was that this payment was in any way discretionary". He accused the RBS board of not sharing material facts with Financial Services Secretary Lord Myners. RBS could have terminated Mr Goodwin's contract as CEO with 12 months' notice, so avoiding the more expensive pension award. Kingman told the committee that UKFI was investigating whether RBS had "full knowledge of the alternatives" when it granted Mr Goodwin his pension.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7920624.stm |title=Business | State bank body raps RBS board |work=BBC News |date= 3 March 2009|access-date=3 March 2009}}{{cite news | first=Jill | last=Treanor | title=RBS decision to double Goodwin's pension was 'extraordinary', MPs hear | date=3 March 2009 | url =https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/mar/03/rbs-goodwin-pension-mps |work=The Guardian |location=London | access-date =3 March 2009 }} A letter from RBS setting out the background to the October 2008 decision on Goodwin's employment termination, the corporate approval process of the pension award and HM Treasury involvement was submitted to the Treasury Select Committee. Had he been dismissed instead of accepting early retirement, his annual pension would have been £416,000, payable from age 60.https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/RBSJohnMcFall030309.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}} If the government had not stopped RBS from going bankrupt, his pension would have been paid out of the pension-protection fund and been £28,000 a year, starting at age 65.[http://www.economist.com/node/13235025 Scapegoat millionaire], The Economist, 5 March 2009

His home in The Grange in Edinburgh was vandalised on 25 March 2009 by an anti-banking group apparently known as "Bank Bosses Are Criminals", according to a newspaper who were sent details of the attack by the group. In their message, they said

{{cquote|Fred Goodwin's house in Edinburgh was attacked this morning. We are angry that rich people, like him, are paying themselves a huge amount of money and living in luxury, while ordinary people are made unemployed, destitute and homeless. Bank bosses should be jailed. This is just the beginning.}}

Several windows in his house were smashed, and a car damaged in the drive below.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/5048091/Sir-Fred-Goodwin-attack-Bank-Bosses-Are-Criminals-group-claims-responsbility.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Sir Fred Goodwin Attack: Bank Bosses Are Criminals – Group Claims Responsibility |first=Aislinn |last=Simpson |date=25 March 2009 |access-date=2 May 2010}}

On 18 June 2009, RBS stated that following negotiation an agreement was reached between RBS and Goodwin to reduce his pension to £342,500 a year from the £555,000 set in February after he took out an estimated £2.7 million tax-free lump sum. The agreement followed the completion of RBS's internal inquiry into Goodwin's conduct, which found no wrongdoing.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/jun/18/fred-goodwin-rbs-pension |title=Fred Goodwin to hand back more than £200,000 a year of his pension |last=Inman |first=Phillip |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=18 June 2009 |access-date=3 May 2010}} In May 2024, it was reported that RBS was spending about £598,000 a year, adjusting for inflation, on Goodwin’s pension.{{cite web | last=Makortoff | first=Kalyeena | title=Taxpayers set for £10bn loss on NatWest as disgraced ex-boss takes £600k-a-year pension | website=the Guardian | date=2025-05-26 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/may/26/taxpayer-loss-natwest-disgraced-ex-boss-pension | access-date=2025-05-26}}

On 10 March 2011, John Hemming, a backbench Liberal Democrat MP, referred in Parliament (under parliamentary privilege) to the supposed existence of "a superinjunction preventing [Goodwin] from being identified as a banker".[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110310/debtext/110310-0001.htm#11031052001448 Hansard], HC 6ser vol 524 col 1069. As matters discussed in Parliament can be freely reported by the press, newspapers including The Guardian,{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/mar/10/fred-goodwin-superinjunction-banking |location=London |work=The Guardian | first=Afua | last=Hirsch | title=Fred Goodwin gets superinjunction to stop him being called a banker | date=10 March 2011}} The Independent,{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mp-lifts-veil-on-fred-goodwin-superinjunction-2238351.html |location=London |work=The Independent |first=Jerome |last=Taylor |title=MP lifts veil on Fred Goodwin super-injunction |date=10 March 2011 |access-date=28 August 2017 |archive-date=11 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111002454/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mp-lifts-veil-on-fred-goodwin-superinjunction-2238351.html |url-status=dead }} and The Daily Telegraph,{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8373535/Sir-Fred-Goodwin-former-RBS-chief-obtains-super-injunction.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Steven |last=Swinford |title=Sir Fred Goodwin, former RBS chief, obtains super-injunction |date=10 March 2011 |access-date=3 May 2011}} reported that Goodwin had obtained such an injunction, while still remaining unable to explain what information the injunction restricted the publication of.

On 19 May 2011, Lord Stoneham, speaking in the House of Lords, asked the Government "how can it be right for a super-injunction to hide the alleged relationship between Sir Fred Goodwin and a senior colleague?"[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/110519-0001.htm#11051953000788 Hansard], HL 5ser vol 727 col 1490. Later that day, the High Court varied the order, allowing Goodwin's name to be published, but continued it in relation to the identity of the lady involved.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13453626|title=High Court lifts Sir Fred Goodwin anonymity injunctio|access-date=19 May 2011|date=19 May 2011|publisher=BBC}} In his judgment, Mr Justice Tugendhat noted that the order had not been a superinjunction as it had been published in anonymised form on the British and Irish Legal Information Institute website. He also stated that the injunction had not prevented Goodwin being identified as a banker, but instead prevented the person applying for the injunction from being identified as a banker, and that this was done because "if the applicant were identified as a banker that would be likely to lead to his being named, which would defeat the purpose of granting him anonymity". The judge criticised press reporting of the case as including "misleading and inaccurate statements".{{cite web |url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2011/1309.html |title=Goodwin v News Group Newspapers Ltd |date=19 May 2011 |publisher=British and Irish Legal Information Institute}}

Goodwin has chaired various government task forces including one examining the work of credit unionsHM Treasury Press Release, 16 November 1999, [http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_191_99.htm Enhanced role for credit unions ] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090211220022/http%3A//www.hm%2Dtreasury.gov.uk/press_191_99.htm |date=11 February 2009 }} and the New Deal programme. He is a former president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland. Goodwin became chairman of The Prince's Trust in 2003. It was announced in January 2009 that his tenure would not be renewed for another three-year term, which he left in June 2009.The Times, 26 January 2009, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110604164320/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5590733.ece 'World's worst banker' Sir Fred Goodwin ousted by the Prince's Trust]

In January 2009, it was rumoured that Goodwin was being considered as a replacement for Max Mosley as President of the FIA (Formula One's governing body) as Mosley was due to step down in 2009. Goodwin, a motoring enthusiast, had been "instrumental" in RBS's sponsorship deal with the Williams Formula One team.The Scotsman, 27 January 2009, [http://www.scotsman.com/formula-one/Anger-over-F1-job-plan.4914929.jp Anger over F1 job plan for Fred Goodwin] In February 2009, RBS announced that the £10 million-a-year deal, struck in 2005, would end in 2010, as part of a strategic review of all sponsorship activity.BBC News, 25 February 2009, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7911039.stm RBS cutbacks to hit British sport ]

One of Goodwin's hobbies is restoring classic cars – the first, a Standard 8, bought from the proceeds of a summer job. He is also a keen golfer and Formula One racing fan.Reuters, 13 October 2008, [https://archive.today/20120718112051/http://uk.reuters.com/article/companyNewsMolt/idUKTRE49C4L220081013?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 Goodwin's RBS dream was a deal too far] Other pastimes have included annual shooting trips to Spain with Santander chairman Emilio Botín.

In August 2011, Goodwin moved out of the family home in Colinton after being asked to leave by his wife and returned to their house in The Grange. The move followed media reports of Goodwin's extra-marital affair with a colleague at the Royal Bank of Scotland, after which Goodwin filed a super-injunction to protect the identity of his former mistress.{{cite web |url=https://www.scotsman.com/business/wife-kicks-cheating-sir-fred-out-family-home-1663534|title= Wife kicks cheating Sir Fred out of family home|author= David Gunn|date= 29 August 2020|work=The Scotsman |location=UK|access-date=29 August 2020}}{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/financial/final-days-of-fred-goodwin-s-rbs-reign-revealed-1-3087747|title=Final days of Fred Goodwin's RBS reign revealed|website=www.scotsman.com}}

Goodwin was knighted in the 2004 Birthday Honours for his services to the banking industry.{{London Gazette |issue=57315 |date=11 June 2004 |page=1 |supp=y }} However, on 1 February 2012, Goodwin's knighthood was "cancelled and annulled" by the Queen on the advice of Her Majesty's Government and the Honours Forfeiture Committee.{{cite web|url=http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/goodwin-knighthood-decision|title=Goodwin Knighthood decision|publisher=Cabinet Office|date=31 January 2012|access-date=31 January 2012}}{{London Gazette |issue=60048 |date=1 February 2012 |page=1865 }} A Cabinet Office spokesman said:{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16821650|title=Former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin to lose knighthood|work=BBC News|date=31 January 2012|access-date=31 January 2012}}

{{cquote|The scale and severity of the impact of his actions as CEO of RBS made this an exceptional case. Both the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury Select Committee have investigated the reasons for this failure and its consequences. They are clear that the failure of RBS played an important role in the 2008 financial crisis, which, together with other macroeconomic factors, triggered the worst recession in the UK since the Second World War and imposed significant direct costs on British taxpayers and businesses. Fred Goodwin was the dominant decision-maker at RBS at the time. In reaching this decision, it was recognised that widespread concern about Fred Goodwin's decisions meant that the retention of a knighthood for 'services to banking' could not be sustained.}}

The annulment proved controversial amongst political and business figures, who pointed out the three-and-a-half-year gap since the near-collapse of RBS, and the coincidence of the referral taking place during a political argument over bonus payments to the current head of the bank. Alistair Darling described the annulment as having appeared to have been taken "on a whim", whilst the Institute of Directors warned against creating "anti-business hysteria".{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16827424 | title = Fred Goodwin knighthood 'hysteria' criticised | publisher = BBC | access-date =1 February 2012 | date=1 February 2012}} Darling declared "There is something tawdry about the government directing its fire at Fred Goodwin alone; if it’s right to annul his knighthood, what about the honours of others who were involved in RBS and HBOS?” In addition, the Queen and Prince Charles were sympathetic to Goodwin and concerned about the implications of the annulment, as Goodwin had been a good custodian of their charities and served quietly after his departure from RBS.

Other awards received by Goodwin include:

• December 2002 – Forbes (global edition) "Businessman of the Year", which described him as an original thinker with a fast-forward frame of mind who had transformed RBS from a nonentity into a global name
• 2003 – 2006 – No.1 in Scotland on Sunday's Power 10027 May 2006,[http://www.fundraising.co.uk/node/161289 Scotland on Sunday publishes Power 100 list] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724053649/http://www.fundraising.co.uk/node/161289 |date=24 July 2011 }}Scotland on Sunday, 27 May 2006, [http://business.scotsman.com/scotlandspower1002006/Power-100-1-to-10.2779064.jp Power 100: 1 to 10]
• December 2003 – "European Banker of the Year" in 2003
• June 2004 – awarded an honorary doctor of Laws by the University of St Andrews[http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2004/Title,42793,en.html Honorary Degrees 2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621023311/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2004/Title,42793,en.html |date=21 June 2012 }}, University of St Andrews, 15 April 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
• July 2008 – awarded an honorary fellowship by the London Business SchoolLondon Business School Press Release, 17 July 2008, [https://archive.today/20120805075928/http://www.london.edu/newsandevents/pressreleases/pressreleases.do?section=EditRelease&mode=getAttachment&releaseId=42&attachmentID=32 Sir Fred Goodwin awarded an honorary fellowship] (PDF)

• 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package
• Tom McKillop
• UK Financial Investments
• 2011 British privacy injunctions controversy
• List of revocations of appointments to orders and awarded decorations and medals of the United Kingdom

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• Iain Martin, Making it Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS and the Men Who Blew Up the British Economy, 2013

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040803111938/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_23/b3886191.htm Profile of Fred Goodwin], Business Week, 7 June 2004
• {{Guardian topic}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120129184122/http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Sir_Fred_Goodwin Fred Goodwin] collected news and commentary at Sky News
• [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5822288.ece Payback time for culture of greed]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, TimesOnline, detailed background on the pension controversy

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{{s-bef|before=Sir George Mathewson}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group|years=January 2001 – November 2008}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Fred}}

Category:British chief executives of financial services companies

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