Under-fire RBS poaches Bostock from Abbey
CFO of Abbey National, Nathan Bostock, joins Royal Bank of Scotland as head of restructuring
Nathan Bostock, the chief financial officer of Abbey National and Alliance
& Leicester, faces what is likely to be the biggest challenge of his career
after announcing he is to join
Royal Bank of Scotland as
head of restructuring and risk. Bostock will report to Stephen Hester, group
chief executive, from June.
Last week, RBS, announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history – a
£24.1bn pre-tax loss for 2008 – and said it was to receive a further £13bn of
taxpayers’ cash.
One headhunter said the appointment seemed like a good move for RBS, adding
Bostock had a lot of experience and a good reputation. ‘He’s not a classic
accounting-style CFO, he’s a general manager.’
Banks appointed a wave of restructuring officers during the past two
recessions in the early 1980s and 1990s. Accounting firms offer a similar
service through ‘corporate turnaround’ specialists.
Hester said Bostock will play an important role managing the bank’s risk
position. The role will incorporate management of the newly created non-core
division of RBS, the asset protection scheme and the risk and legal functions of
the bank.
