Backgrounder: Bank FDs feel the crunch

Sir Fred Goodwin, once of Touche Ross but better known as 'Fred the Shred' in his role as the boss of RBS, has become the highest profile executive victim of the credit crunch in the UK.

Not even Sir Fred could carry off a £15bn capital raising – from the government, this time – and get away with it.

Sir Fred is not the only accountant at the helm of a British bank to lose their job. Chris Rhodes has left his role as FD of Alliance & Leicester, an announcement revealed today.

Rhodes joins the ranks of FDs cast aside by the credit crunch, including Dave Jones of Northern Rock, and countless US finance chiefs.

But it is not miserable for all of the UK's finance directors.

Stephen Hester started out as an assistant to a bigwig at Credit Suisse First Boston rather than by training to be an accountant, but he is familiar to the profession from his time as FD of Abbey. He takes over from Sir Fred Goodwin at RBS today.

Another non-accountant - but well known former FD - who has further burnished his reputation is former Barclays' finance chief Naguib Kheraj.

A man who gave up his FD role because he found the regulatory burden too tedious, Kheraj is a deal maker. Who else for the Treasury to turn to when devising its plan to recapitalize the nation's banking sector?

Further Reading:

Read RBS's announcement this morning

Read the A&L/Abbey announcement

Read The Times' piece: whose plan is the £500bn bailout anyway?

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