RBS: ‘We’re doing all right in Jersey

Tuesday 20th January 2009, 2:59PM GMT.

BOSSES at Royal Bank of Scotland in Jersey claimed today that its business in the Island was still profitable.

RBS group shares plunged by up to 70% yesterday following a trading update from the bank’s head office which predicted end-of-year losses of up to £28 billion – the worst in UK corporate history. Around 1,000 people work for the Channel Islands operation of the group, which includes NatWest bank and Coutts. The international arm of the bank has headquarters in Jersey and also has branches in Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar.

A spokesman said today: ‘The losses announced yesterday by the RBS Group are primarily in parts of the global banking and markets division. RBS International has performed strongly in 2008 and the business in Jersey remains highly liquid and profitable.’

Nevertheless, the group is unlikely to remain unscathed by the widespread job losses hitting the banking sector as a whole.

Jersey Bankers Association spokesman Martyn Scriven welcomed yesterday’s move by the UK government to offer a further package of financial help to help the banking sector as a whole. Although RBS shares started to climb again this morning, Mr Scriven said that yesterday’s stock market falls – which also affected Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC – were ‘unprecedented’.

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1
Norman

January 20, 2009 at 4:12 pm

Crisis ? What crisis ?
Come on lads. Jersey is up the swanny the same as the rest of the world.

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2
Ex RBS empolyee

January 20, 2009 at 4:43 pm

Sure that bank is doing fine, shares are worth 10 pence and all local jobs are safe. Don’t panic Mr Mannering!.

I know that a lot of RBS employees are greatly concerned about their future and with good cause, I sincerely hope job losses are minimal but be sure there will be many jobs cut.

I just hope that people appreciate that those responsible for the current crisis represent a fraction of those employed by RBS, most of whom are as angry as the rest of you at their greed and incompetance.

The popular perception is that bank staff are overpaid, you would be surprised at what the majority of bank employees earn, I can assure you it is much less than you think.

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3
Pip Clement

January 20, 2009 at 5:09 pm

Just because the Jersey branch is doing OK and making money does not mean that it won’t be down sized, sold off to someone else, merged or otherwise meddled with.
Banks need to make substantial profits and raise a lot of cash over the next few years to repair their balance sheets.
RBS is a healthy bank but getting back to the position they were in two years ago is going to require a large dose of reorganisation.

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4
Al

January 20, 2009 at 5:24 pm

RBS is a dead man walking. It is already majority owned by the UK govt, with its share set now to increase to 70 %, the market has spoken only to clearly.

Do you really think the UK govt. wants to be the biggest employer in Jersey after the States which is what in effect this means (or will do when RBS is fully nationalised) ?

Even more worrying is whether the UK government can afford this. There has been a lot of discussion on the FT yesterday and today about whether it will trigger a sterling crisis.

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5
david brown

January 20, 2009 at 5:28 pm

ex rbs (2)
i agree with you 100%
and i dont work in finance.
however i do survive because of finance.
i need you in those buildings.

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6
Boris

January 20, 2009 at 5:57 pm

What a load of waffle; to the spokesman for RBSI in Jersey, ‘listen mate there is a great big hole in the bottom of your ocean liner and you are up to your neck in water’. Do you really think we are all so stupid as to think that because a couple of branches in Jersey and your offshore bit is still ‘profitable’ (whatever that means), that everything is alright.

RBS does its offshore business on the basis of the fact that it is part of a huge great strong international banking empire. Not anymore mate, your employer is a basket case in a sector of basket cases.

Your industry’s collective ineptitude has brought the world to the brink of economic disaster and destroyed the savings of million of normal people. You should hang your head in shame along with the rest of the banking sector. Thanks mate!

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7
P Lee

January 20, 2009 at 6:09 pm

Woolworths in Jersey was profitable …………..

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8
Pip Clement

January 20, 2009 at 6:59 pm

I am sure the UK government is not worried about being the second biggest employer in Jersey and I doubt the bank wil be totally nationalised.
Total nationalisation would just refocus the hedge funds on the next two weakest banks; Barclays and Lloyds.
The UK government wants to get the bank back in some sort of sane state and off it’s books.
And we had better hope the UK government has got it right as they basically run the Jersey economy through their control of sterling etc.

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9
Moi

January 20, 2009 at 7:25 pm

Ex RBS I agree.
The “real” workers in banks are not that well paid, but the higher up the ladder you go the more ridiculous wages you see….some of the people are not worthy of their positions either!
I worked between 3 & 400 hours overtime last year unpaid so please do not tell me bankers have an easy life either. If I could turn back the clock I certainly would not have started my career in finance.

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10
Dr doolittle

January 21, 2009 at 2:30 pm

A famous expression in Jersey indeed!
“I’m alright A”

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