RBS: The biggest loser

When a new chief executive announces record losses, it’s usually an attempt to draw a thick line under massive problems inherited from a former regime. Stephen Hester should be so lucky. Royal Bank of Scotland, under Hester’s predecessor Sir Fred Goodwin, seemingly muddied itself in every grimy pit of the financial crisis. Its latest round of losses is simultaneously eyebrow-raising and unsurprising. At an estimated £28bn for 2008, they amount to the biggest ever reported by any UK company. The...