RBS needs five years to get over ABN fallout

Royal Bank of Scotland will take at least three to five years to recover after the disastrous acquisition of ABN Amro assets that were instrumental in damaging its balance sheet, chief executive Stephen Hester said at the bank’s annual meeting on Friday. Mr Hester said insufficient risk controls, a short-term profit focus and misguided strategy were among a series of problems that, combined with the ABN deal, saw the once-great Scottish bank fail, the Telegraph reported. At the same meeting, chairman Philip Hampton declared, “we should bring to an end the public flogging and focus on the good and enduring people and businesses of RBS and allow them to earn our way back to success.”