UK regulator slams RBS

Britain's financial regulator says it was partly to blame for the failure of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and proposed new preventive measures, including holding bank executives more accountable personally for bad decisions, The New York Times reports.

The Financial Services Authority says RBS' failure was a result of poor decisions by the bank's management and a lack of adequate regulation by the authority itself.

Computer World says RBS failed to implement capable risk management IT systems to keep pace with the rapid growth of its business, according to a damning Financial Services Authority investigation into the bank's near-collapse.

The Financial Services Authority states in its report that the bank had made "seriously flawed" decisions prior to the 2008 disaster. But it also concedes that, as a regulator, it too needs a tougher framework to bring those responsible to court.

RBS, rescued by the taxpayer in 2008, continues to be 84% state-owned and has cut nearly 28 000 staff since the crisis.

The Financial Services Authority adds that "multiple poor decisions" were at the heart of its problems as it outlined six major reasons why the bank needed a bailout that eventually amounted to £45 billion, The Guardian states.

RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton says taxpayers should never have had to rescue the bank. “The Financial Services Authority is right to have given the British public its assessment of events and factors that led to the Royal Bank of Scotland requiring government assistance.”