Time for Goodwin to fall on his sword?

Patrick Upton, Milton Keynes, UK

Excellent, excellent news. Now that one bank has moved, hopefully all the others will follow.

We all need the banks to increase their capital. I am just surprised that RBS has jumped so quickly. Perhaps the "discussions" with the BoE were more like "arm behind the back & hold their nether regions" talks! If so, many thanks Mervyn King.

Alistair Nicholls, Manchester, UK

As a senior RBS bod who has seen the business managed more to satisfy egos than enhance shareholder returns since FAG's appointment I concur that he must go - ABN was a truly shocking deal to push through as time will undoubtedly show. Angry Banker, Edinburgh

John, Edinburgh,

The current crisis is distorting people's long term view. Given ABN's ridiculously high cost income ratio and RBS track record at reducing cost, plus the access to emerging markets ABN gives them, it will prove to be great deal.

J Kelly, Edinburgh,

The problem with rights issues and also dividend cuts is that they give out a very negative message.
The management need to weigh up what they feel is best: raise money from rights issue/div cuts + negative message or no money.

Joe Carter, Coventry, UK

I've never bought into the Goodwin story. As a Scot I deplore the fact that this once great bank has been complicit in the over-valuation of houses, through lending has activily assisted overseas companies to acquire good Scottish and UK companies, has and still is lending to private equity companies even though they create absolutely nothing new.

I'm ashamed that this bank refuses to provide any risk equity to support Scottish or UK start-ups, that it will spend tens of millions on sponsoring Formula One but won't cough up a penny to support Scottish motorsport or Scottish drivers.

It's now got to a point where the word "Scotland" in its title is meaningless and in fact is demeaning because the Scottish characteristics that once made this bank great are no longer practised.

Scamp, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

If Goodwin had proposed funding the ABN acquisition on the basis of a rights issue at the time, he would have been shot down in flames. Why shouldn't he go down in flames now?

Martin, London,

I think the banks are into a good game. To echo the words of Vince Cable they are nationalising losses and privatising profits. Another good feature is that RBS are the first to blink , When others appear with their begging bowls it will be the Underwriters who will have to take the shares.

V Cooper, Yeovil, U.K.

The decision to raise the dividend by 10% is looking a bit silly now. If they had kept the dividend they could have saved their shareholders 40% of tax on it. Smart move Fred.

MB, Glasgow,

QUITE RIGHT TOO,if the taxpayer is going to be tapped for another 50 billion pounds next week then the shareholders of the big uk banks should put in double what the boe is forking out.after all haven,t they made enough in the last ten years.still think sterling will plummet even further next week against the euro.

robert, hants, uk

RBOS just paid a high dividend, it wouldn't have taken more than a half wit to work out they shouldn't have paid any dividend to boost reserves. Fred Goodwin's ego has got the better of him - buying ABN Amro just before the peak of the credit crisis hit. He should have walked away. Sack him.

Rahul, London,

Current share price: 357p. So much for soaring.....

Kris, Bristol,

Personally I think there are a huge number of people who are saying they are doing this becasue of the credit crunch (partially right) and therefore becasue of the US sub-prime issues(wholly wrong).

They are doing this I believe simply because of a need to add capital because of the accumulative effects of the large number of purchases they have made in recent years.

They have grown through accquisition at a phenomenal rate and now need this injection to digest things. Without all those purchases they would not have needed to do it.

Persoanlly I think its a good thing and a good sign that things are emerging and action being taken to resolve them.

The press will present as another nai, those clamouring for a house price crash (and bizarrely there are thousands of them) will view it as another sign.

persoanlly I feel that the more action thats taken and the quicker the better and we will get through this with perhaps a 10% house price fall this year, ups and downs next .

abharrisson, london,

I like thousands of others bought into the Fred Goodwin story, when RBS was riding high 2 years ago. Also, like thousands of other shareholders, I was unequivocally against the ABN takeover. Why pay a horrendous sum of money for part of a second-rate bank and carry all the hassle of dealing with the authorities and leading the consortium? Everyone could see that LaSalle was the only thing worth having! The problem was that - despite what the figures were actually saying - by sheer forcefulness and reckless bribery (ie promising massive annual increases in dividend) Goodwin was somehow able to do exactly what he wanted to satisfy his ego. Yes we need ruthless businessmen, but there must be proper checks and balances in the system (not just annual bonus cheques for senior management ...

Frank, London, UK

This is precisely what all the banks should be doing instead of begging the BoE for more 'emergency' funding (which ultimately means bailout by taxpayers).

Paul, Coventry,

RBS can stick their rights issue. No way will I help them out of their sefl-inflicted crisis. If they sack the management I might.

Frederick, London, UK

So Privatise them. This is all that happened to Northern Rock!

S. Barraclough, Huddersfield, W. Yorkshire

RBS was weakened by its aggressive £47bn consortium takeover of Dutch rival ABN Amro last year.It overpaid and the result was that it went into the credit crunch with an equity tier one ratio of just 4.25pc against its own targets of 5.5pc. Rights issues do not generally go down well with investors, and if this happens in the midst of a banking crisis, many will pull out, placing banks in an even more precarious position. This will inevitably result in even more extreme cutbacks in mortgage lending, and sharp reductions in propery values, placing millions of home owners into negative equity, the likes of which of which could be unimaginable.

N.Metcalf, Lincoln,

RBS should be congratulated for what they have done, fronting up relatively early on (by British standards) before gangrene grew to perhaps eventually severe being of entire lifeform, calls will be made for CEO corpse, perhaps unfairly (figureheads conduct lightning), but many Scottish Puritans /Dutch Calvinists will sweat poison in grave (rightly so).
People are fooling themselves if they think their (Puritans/Calvinists) ancient principles of "Probity, Integrity, Prudence (PIP)", still have modern day living custodians. Permissive society confined these ideas like "O' Leary in the grave"(WB Yeats) . But as FDR said inaugural address " We are afflicted by no plague of locusts, nature still offers her bounty and human efforts will continue to multiply it". Am wondering why the bounties of modern day age cannot now produce harvest reapers like that. But cold light of day implores persons to take responsibility, but is it govt, banking, multi-nationals or some nebulous nexus ?

J. Cameron, NY, Long Island,

The ABN acquisition was horiffically mistimed, but I'm not sure Sir Fred Goodwin deserves to lose his job over what has happened, they have still performed better than a lot of other banks in the world.

Damian, London, UK

absolutely ludicrous if RBs ask for this rights issue they have lsot the plot. they need to remove there ludicrous salaries for the chief exectuvie and all bonuses. then they could use this cash. shareholders should actually come first in a captalist economey.

amit hindocha, leicester, uk