Brassneck Sandler angers advisers at CII bash
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Northern Rock boss Ron Sandler’s brassneck speech at the CII President’s dinner on Tuesday night, in which he laboured in his defence of banking institutions whilst hitting out at his audience of advisers and insurance companies, left a sour taste in the mouths of many guests.
Following on from the well received speech from Friends Provident chief executive Trevor Matthews, Government golden-boy Sandler set about a staunch defence of the indefensible.
Like a well-rehearsed lawyer defending a client who is guilty as sin, Sandler spent much of his speech calling on his audience to recognise the good work of the banks and not to vilify the greedy individuals who have got the country into such a state.
Part of Sandler’s reasoning for defending the banks was that he had to given he is a past president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. Perhaps the opposite should have been true and this heritage should have made him even angrier at the way certain banks have behaved in recent times.
He then followed up with a few cheap shots against his adviser audience. Sandler crowed about how he uncovered how terrible the industry was when he conducted his long term savings review in 2002, which led to the ill-fated suite of stakeholder products.
Although Sandler came up with some correct assumptions at the time in terms of the need for greater consumer empowerment and the problems created in a world where advice is not valued, his obsession with price was a chief reason for the failure of the products to take off.
Sandler’s speech appeared to represent the views of a group of banking institutions who, despite everything that has happened over the past year, are still in denial.
He used the issue of commission as a stick to attack advisers but any problems in this area have been seen far more prevalently in the banking community than anywhere else in recent times.
The adviser arms of banks, masquerading as top-end advisers, have been at the centre of the scandals surrounding the AIG enhanced fund and Lehman-backed structured products, with hefty commissions paid to their advisers to shift large amounts of clients into such products.
Perhaps Sandler’s speech should have focused on the need to clean up dodgy advice being given out by his banking friends rather than hitting out at advisers, especially considering the great strides towards increased professionalism many IFAs listening to the speech have already taken.
Were you there? Let me know what you think.
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Readers' comments (16)
Andy Farrow | 20 Mar 2009 1:12 pm
Typical Banker
I don't know why anyone is surprised, it is everyone else that is at fault not the banks. Excessive time, effort and money is spent regulating IFAs who represent a tiny fraction of the regulatory risk with the UK Financial System, but we are easy targets. Is this the same Sandler who was in charge of Northern Rock and allowed it to lend a further£800m - not my fault!!! No doubt he will be looked after by the old boys and pop up again as chairman of some Quango where he can paid excessive amounts of money for very little value add.
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Douglas Carroll | 20 Mar 2009 1:32 pm
Brassneck Sandler angers advisers at CII bash
Just like many others involved in fouling-up the financial affairs of this country, which includes the regulators and the government, Sandler is behaving like a small child who has been seen to kick a ball through the kitchen window. When questioned the answer is always the same; "It wasn't me". No, of course it wasn't Mr. Sandler, it was the child next door, as always!
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Evan Owen | 20 Mar 2009 1:38 pm
Suite of Sandler
His opinion echoes that of his political master who, unfortunately, has enough time left to finish IFAs off and do what the banks have been trying to do for two decades. After much lobbying we now have the more intelligent media people and some understanding politicians on our side, it will be a close run thing but proving that the banks are not the most trustworthy distribution channel is key to nailing the likes of Sandler to his 'Suite' and making him walk the plank.
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Greg Heath | 20 Mar 2009 1:42 pm
Shows they don't understand...
The comments from Sandler does not surprise anybody these days. He is still a banker at heart and feels that the banking industry has done nothing wrong or was misunderstood. I have found little use for the work that he carried out, its conclusions and the misguided issue of focusing on price only with the stakeholder products. A nonsense concept if ever there was one. The new age Banker is actually a salesman and nothing more. We see examples of it everyday misseling with bank clients being switched into corporate bonds from deposit accounts. No or little explanation of risks. No prizes for guessing who I am talking about. Pity old Sandlers does not understand his own professions business practices better.
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Peter Brown | 20 Mar 2009 2:01 pm
Sandler
As is usual for this chump he blows his own trumpet from the area from his rear at the top of his legs! Another Blair/Brown cronie who has no touch with reality and only listens to him self.
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Evan Owen | 20 Mar 2009 3:02 pm
Holding the stake..
I forgot about his personal flop called 'Stakeholder, he may feel let down by IFAs.-
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Alan Lakey | 20 Mar 2009 3:33 pm
Brassneck Sandler
Sandler is the architect of a failed philosophy. He is also the defender of a failed system. In that sense his is also a failure and should no longer be used for reports, comments, surveys or any other area where his ideas might taint the industry.
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Simon Mansell | 20 Mar 2009 4:10 pm
Do as I say not as I do - says Mr Sandler
Mr Sandler's salary for Northern Rock was reported as £90,000 per month and he is not domiciled for personal tax purposes in the United Kingdom. So why is it that a man of such wealth failed to understand why the paltry take-up of stakeholders was guaranteed. Remove distribution costs and you remove distribution, simple as that Mr Sandler!
SIMON MANSELL Temple Bar IFA Ltd
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Tony Silver | 21 Mar 2009 12:28 pm
Ron Sandler should resign
Ron Sandler should be forced to resign, along with all of his Government and banking cronies.
We all konw that the problems lays quite firmly at the feet of a Government who have sold off the family silver, the greedy banks who continue on their quest of self interest, and a regulator intent on destroying the industry it regulates
Although I was not at the CII event, Ron Sandler's performance seems inline with a similar performace from Ms Amanda Bowes who did a similar trick at the Sesame Symposium.
IFA'S ARE NOT THE PROBLEM - THE BANKS, GOVERNMENT AND REGULATOR ARE THE PROBLEM.
Has anyone noticed how Northern Rock's repossessions have gone through the roof since Sandler took over? HMMMMMMM!
The sooner the country wakes up and turfs this shody government out on it's ear along with all of it's cronies, to hopefully be replaced by an administration containing the head of AIFA at it's heart,and a new Bank of England led regulator that actually understands the professionalism that already exists in our industry, the better.
Either that or we all may as well follow Uncle Ron's example and fly off to some Tax Exempt state in the sun.
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The Mekon | 21 Mar 2009 2:18 pm
Brassneck Sandler angers advisers at CII bash
It's no surprise to hear how out of touch Sandler is with reality. These people who are asked by the goverment of the day to produce a report are usually only interested in saying what they think the govenment wants to hear so that they stand a better chance of being awarded an honour in the future. The banks have been dreadful at advising clients. Thank God that is the case. It leaves a pretty clear field for genuine IFAs.
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