Former CEO of RBS Fred Goodwin's Knighthood Revoked
Former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Fred Goodwin has been stripped of his knighthood and described in tabloids as "Fred the Shred."
The banker lost his high honor Tuesday after steering RBS, one of Britain's largest banks, to near collapse with the disastrous decision to buy out a Dutch bank. The action has contributed to the global financial crisis of today.
The Cabinet Office said the knighthood had been "canceled and annulled" because Goodwin caused the honors system disrepute.
Knighthoods for subjects of the British queen, and honorary ones for foreigners, are high honors given by the British for outstanding service or achievement. As a knight, Goodwin had the right to be called "Sir Fred," and he was granted his the honor for his "services to banking," reported the U.K.'s Telegraph.
Rescinding knighthoods does not happen often, but the British government said "the scale and severity of the impact of [Goodwin's] actions as CEO of RBS made this an exceptional case."
Goodwin became widely unpopular with the public in 2008 when he left RBS in disarray with a multi-million dollar pension.
"RBS came to symbolize everything that went wrong with the British economy over the last decade and under Fred Goodwin that's when it happened and I think it's appropriate therefore that he loses his knighthood," explained Britain's Conservative Finance Minister George Osborne, according to Reuters.
The knighthood was revoked just two days after Goodwin's successor at RBS, Stephen Hester, announced that he would refuse a million pound share bonus that had drawn fury from Britain's major political parties. The political campaign urged that Goodwin be penalized for his role in the financial crisis.
Politicians are also demanding Goodwin lose his pension and for other city figured lose honors as well.
Revoking Goodwin's knighthood has spurred controversy as people argue that the decision to do so may undermine British honors, and Alistair Darling, former chancellor, wrote in The Times that it was "tawdry" to single out one man.
Goodwin joins a group of ex-knights that includes the spy Anthony Blunt, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, and former Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu.
