Bye bye

So farewell, Fred the Shred, Sir Fred Goodwin, chief executive of RBS.

You may have been the mastermind behind RBS' acquisition of NatWest and its subsequent integration, thereby converting a provincial bank into an international player (and, incidentally, making pots of money for shareholders and enhancing Edinburgh's reputation as a financial centre). You may have directed the profitable if gradual expansion of RBS into the USA and into China, again to widespread benefit for all.

But now it's all gone pear-shaped and you have been nominated to carry the can. You have therefore been shown into that room with the pearl-handled revolver and the bottle of whisky. Only history can judge whether your successes outweighed your failures.