RBS moved into its new building in Stamford, an 11-story palace on I-95, almost a year ago. So there’s been loads of time for anyone interested in making the team feel bad about the fact that despite having 84 percent of its ass owned by the British government and the massive taxpayer bailout, the bank shelled out the money to build one of the most enormous and impressive trading floors in the world, where employees needn’t leave headquarters to grab a few drinks and watch whatever Olympic event tickles their fancy, as there’s a sports bar conveniently located inside. And yet. Today the Times seems to go out of its way to to point out that RBS, “the British version of Citigroup or the American International Group,” should be embarrassed to inhabit this place, rather than something more in line with their success, like the parking lot of the Howard Johnson in Riverside.
Like A.I.G., the British bank has been the target of many attacks by unhappy taxpayers, including protests during the Group of 20 summit meeting in London in April 2009 and a snowball barrage on some of its workers in London two months earlier that became popular images on the Internet. Last month, the British singer Billy Bragg rallied a crowd in Hyde Park in London to demand that R.B.S halt bonus payments.
And so, five time zones away, executives in R.B.S.’s American outpost are a bit cautious as they give a tour of their new offices, a $500 million building designed in 2006. “It’s very bull market,” said Michael Lyublinsky, co-head of global banking and markets for R.B.S. in the Americas…the 11-story building would probably stir the ire of British taxpayers already reeling from a government bailout of more than $71 billion at today’s exchange rate. But perhaps luckily for the workers here, those taxpayers are an ocean away.
Did the company ever consider “canceling the move in light of the bank’s problems,” the Times would like to know? Fuck no they didn’t, and let me tell you why. Reason number one: the cash bonuses they didn’t pay their employees for the past several years mostly made up for the costs associated with building this place. You know this is true because members of the staff were in such financial straits that they had to steal money from the firm. Reason number two: it’s not like they didn’t try to be sensitive to what people might think, which is why that sports bar? Was re-branded a “coffee bar.” And reason number three: it makes everyone feel really good about themselves.
Executives say…the building has been a morale booster in tough times. “It’s been a source of pride and kind of a rallying cry,” said Robert McKillip, the other co-head of global banking and markets in the Americas. “We’ve been through a lot.
So you can take your guilt-trip, Times and British taxpayers, and whoever else and shove it. Your words can’t hurt anyone safely ensconced in RBS-ville and in the unlikely event you did, they’ve got an on-site remedy for that, too. Elevator rides and happy endings.
The building’s highlight is an elevator ride away from the entrance. Though R.B.S. combines consumer banking, insurance and trading under one roof, a button pressed for the sixth floor is a voyage to the bank’s true nerve center: a trading floor as immense as an airport hanger….[there's also] an outdoor terrace and a gym where workers can purchase massages.
But do they have a deep fryer?
@1 exactly. and the answer is no.
-you know who
“You know this is true because members of the staff were in such financial straits that they had to steal money firm”
Come on Bess, let the new dude go out with his friends and get a good night’s rest!!!!
dont know what this bitch is talking about. the elevator ride is nothing to write home about.
You know who should be ashamed of their great big fancy new building? The NYT, that’s who. It’s like a monument to the death of print journalism.
@5 yeah!
-rbs rainmaker
RBS Sucks
So do DB servers
It’s in STAMFORD! All the juniors commute 2.5 hours a day. Who cares how nice the building is?
I neither like or dislike RBS, but damn, the NYT is unbelievable. They love writing uniformed hit pieces.
@5, amen.
ubs, massive trading floor followed by massive losses.
rbs, massive trading floor followed by massive losses.
there’s some sort of trend
@8 sorry, I know a ton of people who work there and also live there. which means they live in stamford and really need a nice office; something to get them through the day.
@9 seconded
The queen’s bitches will not be kept down!
–RBSer who’s been kept down 2.5 years
RBS has nothing on my elevator
- W. Wonka
RBS ain’t got sh*t on my elevator
-W. Wonka
What is a trading floor?
or a panini press? i don’t think so
do the brits even like paninis?
or a panini press? i don’t think so
do the brits even like paninis?
or a panini press? i don’t think so
do the brits even like paninis?
or a panini press? i don’t think so
do the brits even like paninis?
“…they are eager to take on the likes of Goldman Sachs and foreign banks like Credit Suisse that did not receive government aid.”
Are they saying Goldman didn’t receive gov’t aid or just CS? That’s confusing…
I hope they at least have a George Forman grill in the place!
18 through 24:
You’re new here, aren’t you?
that picture looks like it came out of a star trek movie