THE delicate art of handling a rumbustious shareholder meeting still doesn’t come naturally to Royal Bank of Scotland chairman, Sir George Mathewson.
Just occasionally at last week’s event in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre — where protesters from trade union Unifi were complaining about sub-inflationary pay rises outside — Mathewson’s patience wore a little thin.
However, he skilfully batted questions from Rob MacGregor, Unifi’s national organiser, into touch. MacGregor complained that 40,000 of the bank’s 120,000 staff had received pay rises of under 2.5%. Sir George explained that the low rises applied only to people who were either underperforming or already at the top of the salary scale which he said was 20% ahead of the national average.
Staff surveys showed that 83% of RBS staff believe themselves to be well paid, said Sir George, who added: “We see an enthusiastic and committed staff wherever we go.”
More painful perhaps for Sir George was a small shareholder named Martin Simons who, reading from a tablet-style laptop, reeled off a string of questions about how much money RBS and NatWest were wasting on unsolicited marketing and the banking group’s exposure to Enron’s collapse.
Simons also asked about its pension deficit and how “part-timers would be hit by a pensions double-whammy.”
Mathewson did not seem to like Simons very much. But the former St Andrews University lecturer answered his questions politely, and without losing his rag.
Mr Simons again interjected ahead of the shareholder vote on the re-election of Sir Iain Vallance, who along with Sir Angus Grossart will stand down as an RBS non-executive director at the AGM in 2005.
Simons launched into a string of allegations including that RBS’s approach to direct marketing was in breach of the Data Protection Act. “I’m continually plagued by marketing from you.” There were some looks of concern on the podium.
Simons also alleged that despite closing an account with RBS in September 2001, he was still waiting for funds to be returned and complained he had lived through a litany of clerical errors including the “loss” of some accounts.
Sir George eventually silenced his critic by complaining that Simons was asking these questions “under the wrong heading and at the wrong time” (i.e. ahead of a vote on Sir Iain Vallance’s re-election). For this the RBS chairman received applause from shareholders. Emboldened, Mathewson added: “I do think you’ve had enough airtime.” At which Simons quietly sat down.
An RBS annual meeting would not be complete without questions from the redoubtable Miss Mary Mackenzie, the famous former headmistress from Peebles.
Sir George on women’s Six Nations rugby kit
On this occasion her gripes were pretty minor. She complained she was unable to read the name plaques of the 17 men and one woman on the podium and suggested that whoever had designed the RBS Six Nations kit had “no knowledge of the female anatomy.” She congratulated the bank on planting flowers in the front garden of its registered office at 36 St Andrew Square and for the quality of its report and accounts. But she did warn of economic “bubbles”.
Sir George listened with equanimity and cracked a joke about the rugby kit by saying: “In today’s world, you’re never quite sure with these things.”
Then came another regular AGM attendee, John Cruickshank. He said the shareholder map, directing people to the EICC, was nearly perfect this time, despite a minor error where Market Street appeared to run into North Bridge.
He also complained of the clash of meeting dates with both Scottish & Newcastle (which he said had been a problem for himself and Sir Angus Grossart) and with Barclays. “There must be some way of avoiding this,” he said.
Sir George joked: “I am very pleased that both you and Sir Angus were able to make it.”
Copyright 2004 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
This article was published in the Sunday Herald on 2 May 2004