Ex-Credit Suisse man takes new global job in RBS Group's investment banking arm
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group, which is 84 per cent owned by the British government, has hired Bill Eldridge to the newly created role of global head of regulatory developments for its investment banking division.
Eldridge was previously MD and head of public policy EMEA at Zurich-headquartered Credit Suisse. In his new role he reports to RBS global
banking and markets’ head of regulatory risk and compliance, Penny Tham.
The appointment is a significant one for RBS, which also recently hired Germany’s former European commissioner Günter Verheugen as senior adviser and vice-chairman of global banking and markets for EMEA.
Verheugen’s recruitment has been highly controversial, with the former industry commissioner facing flak from transparency campaigners (PAN, June).
Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) wrote to European Commission president José Manuel Barroso claiming that Verheugen failed to inform the Commission ‘in good time’ about his RBS employment, as per Commission rules, and that his appointment constitutes a ‘clear potential conflict of interest’. The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation in the EU (Alter-EU) also wrote to Barroso
asserting that Verheugen ‘did not even alert the Commission about his transfer to RBS before it was announced by RBS’.
The case was referred to the Commission’s three-strong ‘ad hoc ethical committee’, which three weeks ago gave him the green light to take up not only employment by RBS, but also with three other organisations: as a political adviser to Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken; as a member of the international advisory board of Fleishman-Hillard; and as an adviser to the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.
A Commission spokesman told PAN that Verheugen had given assurances that he subscribed to the code of conduct for commissioners and that his new roles excluded any sort of lobbying or involvement in business activities.
Public Affairs News revealed last month that Eldridge’s successor at Credit Suisse is 18-year Goldman Sachs stalwart Lisa Rabbe, who is due to start on 16 August.
*** RBS Insurance has opted not to recruit a new head of PA after Andrew Friel’s switch to RBS Group (PAN, Dec 09). Instead, Bob Toal, who joined RBS 12 months ago, is in charge of PA in his role as public affairs consultant.
30th July 2010 by Ian Hall
