Northern Rock boss ready to hand over the reins
Jun 24 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
THE man appointed to run nationalised Northern Rock is already preparing to hand over day-to-day control of the bank.
Executive chairman Ron Sandler has admitted he is looking for a “hands-on retail banker” to take over the main job of running the bank, although the Treasury appointed boss will stay on as chairman.
Mr Sandler made it clear when he was appointed in February he would eventually step back from his role and let a more suitable candidate take over, although few expected he would be searching for his replacement just four months after his appointment.
Last night the company which had held the most shares in the bank, SRM Global Fund, said Mr Sandler’s appointment “should never have taken place”.
Chief operating officer Philip Price said the bank boss was already planning his escape “while many more of Northern Rock’s loyal work force are about to lose their jobs under the plans drawn up by him.”
Mr Sandler said he has set in place measures which will ensure the bank repays its £25bn loan by 2010 – a timetable which could be delayed if the economy heads for recession.
Mr Sandler said: “In the early days, the key requirements have been to give the organisation some sense of stability, some sense of direction, and getting the senior management focused on the creation and delivery of a plan.
“That’s been the agenda for the first four months. But there is another agenda beginning to take shape which is an operational agenda, which is how debt management is handled day to day – the design and fine-tuning of savings products, the design and fine-tuning of mortgage products and the detailed reorganisation of some of our contact centres. That is a more operational focus and someone with more hands-on banking experience is going to be required.”
Newcastle Central MP Jim Cousins said the move was expected and would benefit the bank. Mr Cousins, who sits on the Treasury select committee, said: “Mr Sandler holds two posts, chief executive and chairman and everyone now agrees that this is not the best situation.
“Indeed it will be good news for the bank to allow him to take a step back and deal with the wider issues and take a more strategic approach.
“And that is quite sensible, as it is clearly unusual for someone to hold both positions. What we want now is a high level appointment.”
Mr Sandler will be expecting whoever takes over from him to have the same commitment to the region which he says he quickly learnt.
A spokesman for Northern Rock said Mr Sandler had not yet planned any moves away from his current work, and insisted his comments related to the overall strategy.
