Will There Be Another Banking Collapse Like RBS?

There has never been a bigger banking collapse in UK history than the spectacular implosion of Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008 - a story of drama, greed and hubris that is brilliantly laid bare in Scottish journalist Ian Fraser's detailed and hard-hitting account of how a once great bank was brought to its knees under the leadership of Fred "The Shred" Goodwin. Shredded: Inside RBS, The Bank That Broke Britain has won rave reviews since it was published in June and has been longlisted for this year's Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year award.

Mr Fraser will be discussing how it happened and what the collapse of RBS means for the UK and the economy at this special Independent Investor event in central London on 2nd December.2014. Why have no senior bankers ever been prosecuted for their part in the reckless lending spree that required a huge taxpayer bailout to resolve? How did it happen and what can we do to prevent this kind of corporate disaster recurring? Why was the Blair government so keen to encourage RBS in its breakneck expansion strategy? What are the risks of another major bank collapse in future?

What the critics have said about Shredded

“A gripping account … RBS was a rogue business, operating in what had become a rogue industry, with the connivance of government. Read it and weep” Martin Wolf, Financial Times

"A model of thejournalist's craft, Zola-esque in its broad and unsparing study of corporate hubris and nemesis and haunting in the questions it leaves in its wake" Bill Jamieson, The Scotsman

"Not just the definitive book on the collapse of RBS but one of the best five books on the great financial collapse which changed the history of the 21st century, Ian pulls no punchs in his conclusions" Russell Napier, CLSA

In Mr Fraser's own words, Shredded "explores how, under Fred Goodwin—a former partner at accountants Deloitte—RBS became a rogue institution with few qualms about misselling financial products to individual and business customers in pursuit of profit, a cavalier disregard for the law and a warped idea of its own financial skills and strength".

Getting there

The venue for this event, a club in Brook Street, is within one minute's walk from Bond Street tube station. There will be an opportunity to buy a signed copy of the book as well as ask questions from the floor. The event is being hosted by Jonathan Davis, FT columnist and founder of Independent Investor. For more about the book follow this link.