Monday, February 16, 2009

RBS signs Sachin, others for Rs 1600 crore during recession

LONDON: The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has spent Rs 1600 crore on sponsorship deals with top sportsperson including batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar just days before being bailed out by the government, a media report said on Sunday.

According to a report in the Sunday Times, to please its clients, former RBS chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin signed five-year contracts with Tendulkar and other sporting personalities last October, just weeks before his ouster from the company.

"Royal Bank of Scotland, bailed out with billions of pounds of taxpayers money, hired top sports stars on reckless contracts to entertain clients as part of a 200 million pound sponsorship binge," the newspaper reported.

"Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian cricket hero, signed a five-year deal just weeks before Goodwin was ousted," it added.

However, RBS, which announced a loss of 28 billion pound last month, the biggest in British commercial history, said it was obliged to honour the deals.

Reacting to this, a member of the Treasury Select Committee, John Mann said, "They (RBS) have been reckless yet again. This doesn't seem to be a bank that could do anything in moderation. It now needs to realise the golden days are over."

Source: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/RBS_signs_Sachin_others_for_Rs_1600_crore/articleshow/4133166.cms

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