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The nation's top bankers (and ex top bankers) will be hauled up for what promises to be a very entertaining grilling by the Treasury Select Committee next week.
The action starts on Tuesday at 9.45 and again on Wednesday at 2.30.
It will be broadcast live (and archived if you miss it) on the Parliament Live site via the link here http://www.parliament.uk/parliamenta...e_meetings.cfm
It will also probably be broadcast live on the BBC Parliament TV channel.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle5679586.ece
From The Times
February 7, 2009
Top bankers prepare for live TV and net grilling by Treasury committee
Left to Right: 1. Sir Tom McKillop, chief executive of Astra Zeneca at the company's annual business review in London. Pic - David Bebber; 2. Stephen Hester from British Land, pic Nick Ray; 3. Prince's Trust chairman Sir Fred Goodwin, pic
Ian King, Deputy Business Editor
Their industry's reputation having been comprehensively trashed this week, some of Britain's top bankers are preparing for what promises to be an even more testing few days. Nine of the industry's top names will be preparing this weekend for the modern equivalent of the stocks: a grilling on live TV and the internet by the Treasury Select Committee. The committee has already roughed up top names from the banking, private equity and hedge fund industries, the Bank of England Governor and the City's top regulators. It even tried, unsuccessfully, to unsettle financial journalists on Wednesday.
All that, though, will be a warm-up act for what promises to be two no-holds-barred contests this week.
On Wednesday the Barclays chief executive, John Varley, the Lloyds Banking Group chief executive, Eric Daniels, the Abbey chief executive, António Horta-Osório, and the HSBC UK managing director, Paul Thurston, will be questioned by the committee. Stephen Hester, recently arrived to help to clean up Royal Bank of Scotland, will also be there.
Tuesday, however, will be the main event. Sir Fred Goodwin and Sir Tom McKillop — respectively the former chief executive and chairman of RBS - face interrogation. Joining them will be Andy Hornby and Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, respectively the former chief executive and chairman of HBOS.
As executives at the helm of the two banks that needed the biggest bailout they are taking no chances. Sir Fred has hired the services of Phil Hall, the former editor of the News of the World, to help to prepare him for the session. However, unlike the private equity hearing — when many executives employed PR agencies to help train them — most of the expert advice being received by bankers this weekend will be from public relations people within their banks. They will be watching tapes of previous hearings to spot how the committee has tried to catch out previous witnesses, as well as discussing tactics on what and what not to say and, indeed, going back over past events to make sure they have a grasp of what happened.
A communications expert involved in coaching one of the bankers for this week's hearings said last night: “This committee has a bad habit of trying to humiliate witnesses by homing in on a specific piece of detail and trying to trip them up on that - and then widening it to make a more generalised point. So one of the key things for the witnesses will be to demonstrate a high command of detail.
“The committee will be looking to humiliate them in front of the media there. The kind of thing they will be looking for is obviously an apology — they will be asking the witnesses whether they accept any responsibility for what happened and also a sequence of events, how things happened.”
Those coaching the bankers are keenly aware, though, that the committee itself is not necessarily united. They are aware that party politics can come into play — with Conservative MPs on the committee also trying to score points over the Government's handling of the financial crisis and Labour MPs trying to ensure that regulators and bankers get more blame than the Government. Another expert involved said: “Don't forget, this all suits the Government very well — all the blame being put on the bankers.”
According to sources, Mr Varley will probably be the least rehearsed of those facing the committee, as he has another big task ahead of him before Wednesday — giving Barclays' annual results presentation to City investors on Monday. A source close to Barclays said: “There were various rehearsal sessions which were planned, and I would be lying if I said he hadn't thought about it, but he's more preoccupied with the results. He will be concentrating on those until Monday night.” None of the bankers is underestimating the contest that lies ahead. They are trying to “keep their brains free” this weekend. One source said: “This is by far the most vicious Treasury Select Committee yet.”
The action starts on Tuesday at 9.45 and again on Wednesday at 2.30.
It will be broadcast live (and archived if you miss it) on the Parliament Live site via the link here http://www.parliament.uk/parliamenta...e_meetings.cfm
It will also probably be broadcast live on the BBC Parliament TV channel.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle5679586.ece
From The Times
February 7, 2009
Top bankers prepare for live TV and net grilling by Treasury committee
Left to Right: 1. Sir Tom McKillop, chief executive of Astra Zeneca at the company's annual business review in London. Pic - David Bebber; 2. Stephen Hester from British Land, pic Nick Ray; 3. Prince's Trust chairman Sir Fred Goodwin, pic
Ian King, Deputy Business Editor
Their industry's reputation having been comprehensively trashed this week, some of Britain's top bankers are preparing for what promises to be an even more testing few days. Nine of the industry's top names will be preparing this weekend for the modern equivalent of the stocks: a grilling on live TV and the internet by the Treasury Select Committee. The committee has already roughed up top names from the banking, private equity and hedge fund industries, the Bank of England Governor and the City's top regulators. It even tried, unsuccessfully, to unsettle financial journalists on Wednesday.
All that, though, will be a warm-up act for what promises to be two no-holds-barred contests this week.
On Wednesday the Barclays chief executive, John Varley, the Lloyds Banking Group chief executive, Eric Daniels, the Abbey chief executive, António Horta-Osório, and the HSBC UK managing director, Paul Thurston, will be questioned by the committee. Stephen Hester, recently arrived to help to clean up Royal Bank of Scotland, will also be there.
Tuesday, however, will be the main event. Sir Fred Goodwin and Sir Tom McKillop — respectively the former chief executive and chairman of RBS - face interrogation. Joining them will be Andy Hornby and Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, respectively the former chief executive and chairman of HBOS.
As executives at the helm of the two banks that needed the biggest bailout they are taking no chances. Sir Fred has hired the services of Phil Hall, the former editor of the News of the World, to help to prepare him for the session. However, unlike the private equity hearing — when many executives employed PR agencies to help train them — most of the expert advice being received by bankers this weekend will be from public relations people within their banks. They will be watching tapes of previous hearings to spot how the committee has tried to catch out previous witnesses, as well as discussing tactics on what and what not to say and, indeed, going back over past events to make sure they have a grasp of what happened.
A communications expert involved in coaching one of the bankers for this week's hearings said last night: “This committee has a bad habit of trying to humiliate witnesses by homing in on a specific piece of detail and trying to trip them up on that - and then widening it to make a more generalised point. So one of the key things for the witnesses will be to demonstrate a high command of detail.
“The committee will be looking to humiliate them in front of the media there. The kind of thing they will be looking for is obviously an apology — they will be asking the witnesses whether they accept any responsibility for what happened and also a sequence of events, how things happened.”
Those coaching the bankers are keenly aware, though, that the committee itself is not necessarily united. They are aware that party politics can come into play — with Conservative MPs on the committee also trying to score points over the Government's handling of the financial crisis and Labour MPs trying to ensure that regulators and bankers get more blame than the Government. Another expert involved said: “Don't forget, this all suits the Government very well — all the blame being put on the bankers.”
According to sources, Mr Varley will probably be the least rehearsed of those facing the committee, as he has another big task ahead of him before Wednesday — giving Barclays' annual results presentation to City investors on Monday. A source close to Barclays said: “There were various rehearsal sessions which were planned, and I would be lying if I said he hadn't thought about it, but he's more preoccupied with the results. He will be concentrating on those until Monday night.” None of the bankers is underestimating the contest that lies ahead. They are trying to “keep their brains free” this weekend. One source said: “This is by far the most vicious Treasury Select Committee yet.”
& for the politicians on the take ......do as the Romans did.....cut off their noses
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