Royal Bank Scotland

About Royal Bank Scotland

Royal Bank of Scotland was effectively nationalized in October 2008. The UK government took an 84 percent stake after a 45 billion capital injection, the largest bank bailout in history adjusted for size. RBS had grown aggressively under CEO Fred Goodwin. The 2007 acquisition of ABN AMRO for 71 billion was disastrous. RBS wrote down 16 billion on ABN AMRO assets. Goodwin was stripped of his knighthood in 2012. The bank posted a 24 billion loss in 2008, the largest in British corporate history. RBS was gradually privatized over a decade, with the government selling its final shares in 2024 at a 10 billion loss to taxpayers. The Goodwin era became a byword for reckless banking.