'Sorry' Sants says he never wanted top job

WALKER & SANTS DEFENCES

The next time I have an IFA client who is being pursued relentlessly by FSA Enforcement for some alleged wrongdoing I shall apply the Walker and Sants Defences: 1. I was too busy with TCF to attend to my duties 2. The intellectual environment was not conducive to my observing the FSA Rules 3. I am an IFA not out of choice but force of circumstances 4. I am sorry, truly sorry that I breached the rules, that clients lost out and that I was not paying attention. Who do Walker and Sants they are kidding? Are they both stupid enough or arrogant enough to think that they have any vestige of credibility after seeking to exculpate FSA and Mr Sants himself for their respective failures in regulatory oversight of RBS?

Posted by: Alasdair Sampson

sants, you are pathetic

Not only have you the sheer cheek to say you never wanted the job, you admit you were/are useless at it. God help us if you becomes next BofE governor. Sants, never take a job where you are in charge of lives like say at a maternity wing or an army platoon. You cant get away with a pathetic sorry when your decisions cost lives , not livelyhoods. You make me want to vomit.

Posted by: meetoo

Dear Mr Tyrie

As you know I am not good at speaking before cameras and I believe that I am being quoted out of context. For reasons of clarity, I am writing to confirm I really meant to say yesterday. What I meant to say is that I am truly sorry that the FSA failed in its responsibilities to the banks shareholders and customers; to the government that had to fund the bale out; and to the bank staff that have lost their jobs due to our inability to regulate properly. As the head of the authority, I take full responsibility for the mess we have created. I do accept we have not recruited the right calibre of staff to do the job properly; for that I am to blame as I probably do not fall into that category myself. Before I took on this top job, my due-diligence indicated that the organisation was something that I was proud to put my name to as I would hate to be associated with some thing that could restrict my career prospects (knighthood) in the future. Mr Tyrie, I certainly did not see this as a ‘gravy train’ position but I am however prepared to wait at the station until the Threadneedle Street express comes along shortly.

Posted by: HS

Sorry is a useless word

Now the cover is blown we see this whimpering little excuse of a man in his true colours. Backing off from his responsibilties saying that he never wanted the job. If that were the case, why did he accept it? The fact of the matter is that he acccepted the job and an awful lot of people have gone to the wall because of his ineptitude. A lot of IFA's who pay his and his cronies unworthy bonuses have suffered due to his failings. He was the 'man' at the top and he is the person who should have the physical and moral courage expected of someone in that position. A pathetic indictment of the quality of his tenure at the top of the FSA. And where is he going now? May the Lord truly help us. I refer to his own words. "During yesterday's session, Sants apologised for the failure of RBS and said he would not permit the lender's former managers to work in finance again." May he himself accept that the responsibility was his and he failed. He was the one that failed. May he fall on his sword and take the honourable action, for once. Having said that, I doubt he knows the meaning of that word. 'Honourable'

Posted by: Richard

Sants 'apologises'

So, there you have it...the clear evidence from the horse's mouth: ''I never wanted the top job....so I was never going to be interested in getting it done properly.... But then... I AM a banker after all....but I never reverted to type , honestly....I didn't need to, as I'd always been the same.....and the thought of around three quarters of a million quid a year just swept me away....'' PS ''OOps, forgot to say....I'm sorry about that old RBS business by the way....awfully inconvenient , what?! I'm just off to buy old Hester a drink over a spot of lunch, poor chap''

Posted by: PAUL FIELDING

Oh yeah?

Mr Sants comments are at odds with thwe recollections of a former colleague who says he always wanted to head the FSA http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/mar/30/creditcrunch.northernrock

Posted by: Alan Lakey

Not me Guv.

Perhaps this is true, you never wanted the job, Mr Sants. The fact remains however, you accepted it. You accepted the role and the salary that goes with it. It appears now however, that you are accepting none of the responsibility. How would the FSA treat an adviser who made this type of statement? It was not your fault because you were concentrating on TCF. It was not your fault because John Tiner was to blame and not you. It was not your fault because you did not have enough staff or enough money. On and on and on it goes. Pathetic excuses for failure which was rewarded with fat cat salaries, eye watering expenses and a nice bonus to boot. Mr Sants, just as you believe IFAs' are not fit for purpose, hence the need for RDR, is it not time you took a long hard look in the mirror and admitted that you should never be allowed to work anywhere near financial regulation in future? Why is the complete lack of respect for the FSA such a mystery to Turner Sants & Co?

Posted by: Sickofsants

Sorry

A meaningless word comimng from his mouth. However, there is time to make amends. Will You ?

Posted by: Swanny

"I never wanted to do this for a living."

"I always wanted to be .... a lumberjack!" This is the best laugh I've had for ages, but Michael Palin did it so much better.

Posted by: Monty Python

SHORT AND SWEET

To the person who talked Sants into applying for the job.... Don't ever become a recruitment agent.

Posted by: Keith Jayne

Biggest Wooden Spoon ever

Someone who we all know quite well met him about a year ago and said he 'wasn't very bright'. So are we surprised he helped the banking sector bring the country to it's knees? easy question this one....................answer....................yes you got it......NO!

Posted by: Incompetent Regulators Award Team

Aww Shame

What a shame, poor Hector my heart bleeds. I think he should get a pay rise and a nice bonus for all the hassle he's getting. Also he's having to face up to all those nasty MP's who do not understand the evil that is the IFA community - they needed to be stopped, I was the man to do it, I would have succeeded as well had it not been for that damn banking crisis - curses...I'll be back...Be very afraid

Posted by: Paul Burnside

Bit of advice

From a lowly office manager to the Treasury select committee. As a potential employer you need to assess the suitability of a candidate to a position. there are a few points that need to be addressed; Obviously this candidate has admitted weakness of character, he said that he was pushed into the job. No-one in authority should be able to be pushed into anything - let alone a position of tremendous authority. This candidate doesnt have the strength of character to stand by his convictions, by the clear deviance of quote from him from the Guardian report in 2008 to the quote today. This candidate doesnt have the knowledge to hold the position. He failed in his FSA position with regards to the RBS saga, which he has admitted, so will not have the knowledge to run any part of the biggest and most influential bank in this country. I would question his motives in taking this position as he is obviously NOT fit to take it on. Question - how on earth did he get this far and who recommended him for the job? I want to see if THEIR judgement is good enough to do their role.

Posted by: Lorna

Its time !!

The government should now be insisting the FSA board minutes are made public. These fools have been hiding behind their immunity from accountability for far to long. Maybe the rope it tightening My contempt for these people holds no bounds and my choice of words would not be published.

Posted by: DH

Also deaf and arrogant

The man is also deaf and arrogant. He blatently told the TSC to "enjoy sex and travel" when the suggested that RDR should be delayed for 12 months. A dictatorial man in a dictatorial position with too much power. Never mind the "Arab Spring" I think we need a "Financial Services Industry Spring".

Posted by: dwinsal

SORRY IS THE SADDEST WORD

He's sorry? We are all bloody sorry that this inept idiot was placed in a job he had no intention of doing properly, with the results that we can all now see and feel. He should be immediately dismissed and I hope that his bonus is curtailed, if not blocked. But that would be too much to hope for. He says he is a 'banker', I think the first letter of that word should be a capital W. Its interesting that I have been slating this sorry excuse for a executive for over two years now and suddenly even he agrees with me!

Posted by: CHAY

Monty Python

It's great! You could not make it up. First, 'I'm sorry' then 'I didn't want the job!' "I'm sorry officer, I never wanted to speed -ask my missus"

Posted by: Neil Shillito

OOPS!

Perhaps he tripped and fell into it?

Posted by: Gwynneth Rutherford

Hm

As soon as there is any kind of critical article on the regulator the extremely bitter, unbalanced IFA community lines up to make scathing, personal attacks (albeit many of them humorous in their ineptitude). Whilst it's hard to disagree with a reasoned approach that the FSA has failed the consumer and the financial services industry, it would be nice to see some more honest and open debate and criticism of the IFA sector from practitioners. Balance, honesty and integrity appear to be qualities the IFA community know little about. How many of you would leap at the chance to join the overpaid and unaccountable regulator you regularly slaughter in these pages?

Posted by: Disgruntled

Pot Kettle

@ Disgruntled Bitter and unbalanced is what you would be if you had been subjected to the whims of the FSA over the last 20 years. That is our excuse. What's yours?

Posted by: Kettle

Sorry

I bet HM is not on the receiving end of the regulator, increased costs, no long stop, decisions made in hindsight and anything that goes wrong with the FSA its never their fault. I have no sympathy with them having created an organisation that has slowly but surely decimating the financial services industry.They have got rid of home service companies and direct sales as a result the protection and the savings situation has gone from the best to the worst in the world. I do however have sympathy for the ordinary employees of the FSA who try to do a good and proper job within a cranky organisation. Oh by the way if I had got Sants job I would take all the flack in the world and salt away my inlated salary etc and retire after 3 years and leave the mess to someone else. Oh he is doing that just taking a bit longer.

Posted by: terry

Even more disgruntled

@Disgruntled: You say "Balance, honesty and integrity appear to be qualities the IFA community know little about" HOW DO YOU KNOW??? And as you 'appear' to know all about the IFA community, perhaps you could tell us what you do?

Posted by: Nick H

Balance?

@Disgruntled We are told that one minute Hector wanted the job and the next minute he didn't. Who do we believe? I see poor excuses for regulators as well as IFAs, WOMBLIES or whatever they are called. The 'industry' and the regulators deserve what has been and what is coming but society didn't deserve this mess did it? We the people are in dire need of balance, I see none.

Posted by: Evan Owen

'I could have been a brain surgeon...'

So Hector never wanted the job after all then.... Would it be unfair of me to say that this sad fact was evident from his signal failure to regulate the industry in anything like and effective manner? This latest pathetic utterance reminds me of the Monty Python "I don't have to do this job you know. I could have been a brain surgeon. I only like do this job because I like being my own boss". Yeah, right. Sadly Hector, I wouldn't employ you to sweep my office, never mind a career of any national importance! I believe that I have now truly seen it all. The man who presided over the regulation that in turn allowed the collapse of banking as we know it never wanted the job and was presumably only doing it (and being paid the salary that went with it) to do us some kind of favour? Shame on the current administration for not standing true to their word and sweeping this sorry shower away and replacing it with something cheaper and more effective.

Posted by: Sam Lever

NICK H

I did reply to your question yesterday in a very courteous and informative manner but it appears my thoughts have been censored on behalf of the IFA community!

Posted by: Disgruntled

NICK H

I did reply to your question yesterday in a very courteous and informative manner but it appears my thoughts have been censored on behalf of the IFA community!

Posted by: Disgruntled