April 23, 2008 (LPAC)--Last year was a triumphant one for the Royal Bank of Scotland, the prestigious British bank which, among other gems, owns Coutts & Co., bankers to the Queen (actually, to many British queens, but that's another story). At last year's annual meeting, the theme was pure power. As the London Times described it, "directors sat in smug contentment as the rousing theme tune from Gladiator, the blockbuster film... accompanied footage on a giant screen showing the global domination of their company." The Royal, or RBS as styles itself for public consumption, was on a roll, and in the midst of an ultimately successful fight to take over Dutch banking giant ABN Amro, with help from Banco Santander and Fortis.

Unfortunately for The Royal, however, that great victory, proved to be phyrric, as the global financial system collapsed in mid-2007 and the RBS's great prize proved to be an overpriced turkey (as is The Royal itself). With the bank now being forced to seek an additional $24 billion in capital to help cover its huge losses, the level of managerial arrogance was much diminished at this year's annual meeting, and the shareholders were not happy. Chairman Sir Tom McKillop bravely put the lipstick on the pig, while former hero CEO Sir Fred Goodwin remained mute. Shareholders accused the two British Knights of a variety of crimes and incompetencies, ranging from "legalized larceny" to "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" and "unbelievable bad management," reflecting the British arrogance that they should have to take losses. Legalized larceny may be fine when the Lords and Ladies profit off the colonials and other inferiors, but it is totally unacceptable when the worm turns.

It would be impolite of us to remind the Royal Bank and its customers, including the stuffy figurehead Mrs. Windsor, that we warned them that their decision to destroy the world to preserve their predatory way of life would come back to haunt them, that their veneer of pomposity and superiority would not protect them from the forces which they have unleashed. But then, being impolite to such pretentious jackasses is the right thing to do.