Shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland voted almost unanimously to accept the Government's £20 billion bailout package yesterday. However, any anger that existed was directed more towards the Treasury than at the bank's board. Rage that small shareholders felt towards the board for presiding over a 90 per cent fall in the bank's stock market value and the disappearance of dividends appeared to have been assuaged by a deep apology by Sir Tom McKillop, the chairman.

In a public display reminiscent of the televised apologies by Japanese bankers during that country's 1990s crisis, Sir Tom said that he was, both as chairman and on a personal basis, “profoundly sorry about the position we have reached”.

He added: “I am sorry about the very real financial and, therefore, human costs that those who have invested in us now feel and recognise how seriously this has impacted on shareholder confidence in RBS. And I am also sorry if any of our customers have suffered anxiety as a result of the situation.”

He assured employees, who, he said, had bought shares often from modest incomes to show their belief in the company, that their anxiety was of “great concern” to the board and senior managers. His display of penitence before the meeting in the Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland appeared to appease shareholders.

Sitting silently and unemotionally beside him was Sir Fred Goodwin, whose nine years as chief executive ends today, although he will continue to work until the end of January alongside his replacement, Stephen Hester, the new chief executive.

Not until close to the end of the 90-minute meeting, attended by about 250 shareholders, was he called on to speak when shareholder Ian Leckie said he wanted to hear Sir Fred say sorry. After some microphone fumbling, Sir Fred said, without visible emotion: “I am extremely sorry. I entirely share the sentiments expressed by the chairman on behalf of the board. I am extremely sad to be leaving the company in these extremely trying times.” Apart from explaining in rather dry accountant's tones to a puzzled man the difference between the market price valuation of the bank and its net asset value, that was Sir Fred's only contribution.

It marked an end to an RBS career that began two decades ago, rising to chief executive when Sir George Mathewson moved up to the chairmanship. He became known as “Fred the Shred” for presiding over a bank reorganisation programme that saw many jobs cut. His involvement in company acquisitions, 20 since the takeover of NatWest in 2000, built his presence in global banking.

However, it was the takeover too far - the purchase of part of ABN Amro in 2007 for a cost to RBS of £10 billion, now a quarter more than the entire market worth of RBS - that sent the bank sliding fast downhill.

Sir Tom said it was not the root cause of the bank's ills, which he said mounted in the months after shareholders voted to give it £12 billion in a rights issue, and became critical after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Wall Street bank, in September.

Buying part of ABN Amro, he said, increased RBS's reliance on wholesale money markets that then increasingly froze up, and magnified the bank's problems rather than causing them.

“Our position reached a tipping point during October of this year as our share price suffered more than most other UK banks,” he said. After the incoming chief executive's strategic review, the aim would be to refocus the group on the businesses where it was stable, and could have profitable, market-leading franchises.

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