Who's The World's Worst Banker? (POLL)

As the economic crisis ruins banks (and even nations) on what seems to be a weekly basis, we would like to draw your attention to a vote Slate's Daniel Gross is having to pick the "World's Worst Banker." While there are some obvious choices (Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers comes to mind), this is a global contest, and one need not be constrained by national borders. Gross, for example, nominates Fred Goodwin, the Royal Bank of Scotland CEO who drove that venerable company right over a cliff:

RBS's slogan is "Make it happen." A review of the record shows that Goodwin indeed made it happen. He aced every requirement for a hubristic CEO.

Carrying off mergers and acquisitions and calling them growth? Yes. After buying British bank Natwest for about 26.4 billion pounds in 2000, Goodwin used RBS's cash and high-flying stock as a currency for more deals. Among the biggest was the $10.3 billion purchase of Charter One Financial, a Cleveland-based bank, in 2004, thus expanding the bank's footprint in the Rust Belt.

Ill-advised, history-making, massive merger precisely at the top? Yep. In November 2007, RBS and its partners, Fortis and Banco Santander, completed their acquisition of Dutch bank ABN Amro. As proud adviser Merrill Lynch noted, the $101 billion deal was "the world's largest bank takeover and one of the most complex M&A transactions ever." And it closed almost precisely when the air started to come out of the global lending bubble.

You can read Gross's full arguments for Goodwin here. He makes a persuasive case.

However, we want to know who you would nominate for "World's Worst Banker." Don't limit yourself to just the guys who destroyed the investment banks (Bear Stearns' James Cayne, for example); feel free to include figures such as Alan Greenspan and Hank Paulson, or the Finance Minister of Iceland (Iceland was forced to turn to the IMF for a humiliating bailout of its tattered economy).

Vote for the "World's Worst Banker" below, but if you don't see your first choice, please offer your nomination in the comments. Check out HuffPost's Economic Dishonor Roll if you need a refresher.

Quick Poll

Who's The World's Worst Banker?

Fred Goodwin, CEO of Royal Bank Of Scotland

Richard Fuld, CEO of Lehman Brothers

Árni M. Mathiesen, Finance Minister of Iceland

Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve

James Cayne, CEO of Bear Stearns

Chris Cox, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission

Hank Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs and current Treasury Secretary

Alan Fishman, CEO of Washington Mutual

Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup

Comments

[eizburger]

It does not matter who of the Icelanders is on the list, the veterinarian Mathiesen is the representative of the whole Icelandic banking fiasco. The central bank president Oddson and the prime minister Haarde in addition to the owners of the three Icelandic banks all deserve to be on the list. The veterinarian is a good representative for the group, (he used insider trading when he amongst others illegally took over a savings and loans in Iceland). Though Iceland is small and the global effect of people like Greenspan may be bigger, the Icelandic group of whom Oddson must be seen as the architect, took a countries economy, used it and abused it for their own profit and then finally totally destroyed it. All of this is not the main reason these goons deserve to be on the top of the list. The biggest reason to nominate and select the whole Icelandic team as the worst bankers in the world is that not only has not one of them admitted any fault, but these same people who in their incompetence destroyed Iceland's economy are now the people who are in charge of fixing it!

[Benedikt]

Incompetent as he may well be, Árni M. Mathiesen, is not the central banker for Iceland. That role is performed by David Oddson. He should be on this list as he is, more than anyone, responsibe for the mess that Iceland is in through the policies that he has pursued as the head of the national bank. Arni may not have anticipated the effects of those policies, but David Oddson is to blame.

An Icelandic banker certainly deserves to be on this list, but you really need to check your facts before laying the blame at the wrong doorstep.

[kgb999]

Would have gone for Greenspan, but Paulson's actions have taken all the problems that Greenspan's policy created and turned them nuclear. He still tries to see the shell game through to the end instead of just picking up the shells displaying where the pea is.

He has become an enabler of the broken industry, using our bailout for one last fix instead of the intensive rehab that the bank executives truly need. He is the source from which the other failed bankers gain the strength to run their companies so poorly.

Iceland's guy just hasn't created the same level of global chaos that ours has.

[Mildmannered]

"Bubbles" Greenspan, his philosophy/practice has given us our economic meltdown, Time absolutely needs to make him MAN OF THE YEAR.

[MagnusThor]

David Oddson, head of the Icelandic Central bank is by far the worst banker ever.

[Ice-Ice-Lander]

Check your facts.
Of the Icelandic authorities, Minister of Finance Arni MATHIESEN has little to do with the banking system. These issues are the responsiblity of Commece Minister Bjorgvin SIGURDSSON (banking and bank supervision) and Central Bank Governor David ODDSSON (financial stability issues). The following were in charge of the banks that failed:
Kaupthing Bank: Sigurdur EINARSSON and Hreidar Mar SIGURDSSON
Landsbanki Islands: Halldor KRISTJANSSON and Sigurjon ARNASON
Glitnir Bank: Bjarni ARMANSSON (until April 2007) and Larus WELDING

[xxxy]

even worse - my understanding is that he studied fish pathology - just the education you need to me a finance minister - how pathetic !!

[Mantitoban]

Though I am pretty sure that all of the nominated are worthy of the title, I think that the title should go to the banking minister of Iceland, Bjorgvin G. Sigurdsson. On his watch he saw about 90% of the financial system of his country collapse. The banks in Iceland are not under the control of the finance minister, though he hasn’t exactly put in a stellar performance either. But the treasury in Iceland had almost no debts before the crisis hit.

[klinkari]

Well I would suggest that my main man Arni Matthiesen deserves to be higly recommended in this poll, due to his lack of financial skills and his amazing ability to do everything wrong. And also did anyone know that this guy is a Veterinarian? Makes you wonder about the the fantastic job that the Icelandic government must be doing...

[FaithfulObserver]

Isn't Paul Vilker "The Worst Banker in the World" and also a man...:
who was originally appointed by R. M. Nixon, a Republican seldom honored even by Rush Limbaugh?
whose obsession with fighting INFLATION (that demon whose defeat he deemded worthy enough to justify fighting at all costs, even at the expense of the greater economy) led him and the Fed into raising interest rates to OVER 20% thirty years ago?
who is partly responsible for the beginnings of the "Savings and Loan Debacle"?
whose incredibly BAD JUDGEMENT contributed to banks' failing across America in the early eighties, because their loan customers couldn't service their debts, which became more and more the financing of interest?
whose policies greatly contributed to the ultimate "Failure of Carter" (whose biggest fiscal sin was to reappoint Paul Volker as Chairman of the Fed) to be a good steward of the economy and therby greatly contributed to his ultimate defeat for reelection?
whose policies forced foreclosure upon businesses, particularly family farms, aacross America because they couldn't afford to service debts, due largely to soaring energy costs and falling comodity prices, but which had doubled in about four years of interest rates reaching 20%?
whose vision at the height of his game proved to be unbelievably shortsighted?
whose economic judgement the American people should have less respect for than almost anyone in living memory, except for those who allowed people like the CEO of Countrywide Mortgage to devastate oue economy with their greed and selfishness?

[dezzertguy]

Chris Dodd is the worse banker. He got sweetheart mortgages but expected banks to make bad loans. Second is Barney Frank, he too expected banks to make bad loans but only his boyfriend benefited.

[lechatnoir]

It's hard to decide between dear old Alan and Paulie, but for the years of glazed over, blank stares and endless litanies of Economics mumbo jumbo, the Oracle wins hands down.
This said, the dog pile analogy is right on

[WorkingClass]

Agreed. Greenspan sets the standard.

[biwee]

Why was not Robert Rubin on the list?? Rubin is, without doubt, the very worst.

[Scarabus]

Problem is, there might oughta be some subcategories as well as overall "worst in show." How about "most corrupt," for example?

[dmbraddy]

Milburn Drysdale of The Beverly Hillbillies. On second thought I think Mr. Drysdale was a better banker than any of those on the list.

[Cmdr UK]

I agree, I think Mr. Drysdale was pretty good.

[RichManPoorMan2009]

Governor Bank of I s r a e l slated as President of New York Federal Reserve Bank

Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of I s r a el, is reportedly again a candidate to replace Timothy Geithner as president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, according to media reports.

http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/182943

[lechatnoir]

tx for the heads up