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Picking Fred

Founded in 1727, the Royal Bank of Scotland rose to become an international banking icon. Here Sir George Mathewson CBE explains how Sir Fred Goodwin came to succeed him as Chief Executive of the bank.1

The Royal Bank of Scotland was once a famous Scottish institution; a bank with a reputation for prudence. But in October 2008, less than a decade after Fred Goodwin took over as chief executive, it came within hours of collapsing. RBS later posted the biggest loss in UK corporate history - 24 billion pounds - which damaged the bank's reputation for financial prudence and Scotland's image as a global financial centre. Using previously unbroadcast footage of the bank's top executives and interviews with bank insiders, this documentary tells the compelling story of a national catastrophe.

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1 minute

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