The plausible executive and the ruined bank

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My latest post at Pieria looks at the mess the Co-Op Bank has got itself into. The former CEO, Neville Richardson, says it's not his fault. But if it isn't his fault, whose fault is it? And just how bad is this mess, anyway?

"The Co-Op Bank's former CEO, Neville Richardson, gave evidence to the Treasury Select Committee on the circumstances surrounding the failure of the Verde deal. In the course of that evidence, he made the following claims about the Co-Op Bank's finances:
  • the Britannia building society, which the Co-Op took over in 2009 (and of which he was previously the CEO) was not the primary source of the toxic assets that have blown a large hole in the Co-Op Bank's capital;
  • When he left the Co-Op Bank in mid-2011 it was profitable, well-managed and there were no signs of credit problems in its asset base.
I admit I found this somewhat hard to swallow. But since he makes these claims on the basis of figures derived from the Co-Op Bank's report and accounts which he has submitted in his written evidence to the Treasury Select Commitee, I thought I would have a look myself and see if there was any basis for his claims."

You can find the results of my analysis, and the conclusions I draw, here.

Comments

  1. formula5718 September 2013 at 07:58

    A fine, persuasive analysis. Thank you!

    Certainly it is a matter of Richardson's want of competence or integrity. He must have had many accomplices though.

    ReplyDelete

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