Who would want to be the CEO of a bank? Constant scrutiny, relentless responsibility, and a 24-hour requirement to lead and inspire. It takes a certain person to want this life.
No wonder many banking leaders have large teams to help them navigate these challenges. Regulators and politicians aside, a deft touch is needed to keep stakeholders happy. Good communication is key and NatWest’s Alison Rose appeared to have the knack.
But hubris is as seductive as it is insidious, and Rose seems to have fallen for it.
When talking to a BBC journalist about a decision by Coutts, a private bank and NatWest subsidiary, to no longer do business with controversial British politician Nigel Farage, Rose committed two grave PR sins – speaking about individual customers and misleading the media.
I would wager that when this conversation became known neither NatWest’s in-house PR team nor its outside advisers had much influence on her thinking. People panic. If I had a pound for every time I have seen a senior exec running around with their hair on fire, blind to wise communications counsel, I’d have an account at Coutts.
It is beaten into PRs never to speak about customers, however tempting and helpful it might be. It is a universal rule and one that forever frustrates journalists. But worse, when speaking with the press, you never lie or mislead. If caught out, you won’t recover. And you always get caught, and journalists don’t forget.
At best, in relation to the BBC, Rose was not sure of what she spoke about. At worst, she knew exactly what she was doing (deflecting attention away from the explosive issue of Coutts’ apparently values-led customer selection process). It is possible she was just woefully unprepared. Either way, she overstepped the mark. Hubris was winning.
Let us be sympathetic for a moment. We all make horrible mistakes. It is what we do about them that counts, both individually and as a corporation.
In the case of a bank, a PR official worth their salt should have the courage, given all the facts, to offer advice that is in the best interests of the organisation rather than any individual.
This isn’t always easy. Advice must take into account, among other things, regulations, ethics, impact, cost and, importantly, reputation. Dealing with a stressed senior banker who fancies they can manage the media better than you (many do) is one thing. We deal with it. When facing up to a CEO or chairperson, double the courage is required. It can be a lonely moment.
What happened next is the stuff of case studies. Stick your head in the sand and then, when the issue doesn’t go away, make a disingenuous apology, hoping all the brownie points you built up over the years will help you through the crisis. Nope – it doesn’t work that way.
It was clear pretty early on that heads would roll for this debacle, especially with a government wanting to stoke an issue to help it win a skirmish in the culture wars. What wasn’t so obvious, as the story unfolded, was the broader impact on NatWest.
As soon as it became apparent Rose had been chatting with the BBC, the PR advice – indeed any advice – should have been to the chairman of the bank, Howard Davies – ie, above Rose’s head. And that advice should have been for the bank to fess up to the regulator and to suspend Rose. Gutsy moves but the only ones that would leave NatWest with any credibility.
But it didn’t and now it is too late. The bank comes across as naive and amateurish, consumed with its own self-appointed values and with a disregard for customers.
Rose was probably right to resign. As importantly, Davies too is surely considering his position. First, it appears foolhardy to give his support to Rose just a few hours before her departure (opening a new can of worms about protecting shareholder interests). Second, when a self-confessed manipulator of the truth and a breaker of rules quits her job, it is not, as Davies described it, a “sad moment”.
For the bank, Rose's resignation could – with luck – be the first, very small step towards salvaging its reputation.
Jezz Farr has been a senior communications adviser to major international banks for more than 25 years