RBS and me

Intriguingly I had a telephone call a short while ago from the Private Banking (PB) department of RBS seeking to set up a telephone appointment for me; apparently my PB contact is taking time off as a result of illness and the replacement person wishes to speak with me and one assumes other clients of the ill colleague. Probably this is just a routine call having no especial significance, but just at this time one cannot help but wonder if it is at least partly designed as a reassurance that things remain well within that bank and that clients such as me should not be unduly alarmed at what we are reading and seeing in the media. I'll know in a few days time and may or may not decide to write further here when that happens, depending upon how I feel afterwards.

Obviously I am as concerned as anyone at what has been happening in recent weeks and days, however there is not a lot I can realistically do that I have not done already and the solution is certainly not to exacerbate whatever problems might exist at various financial institutions by lots of people thinking about withdrawing sizeable funds from one of the UK's and the world's largest banks; I certainly would not wish to keep that kind of money in liquid form (whether paper or gold), as I would obviously have to try and provide some security against theft, so I would be obliged to try and decide which other institution(s) might be as good or better a home for it. Frankly, best to leave such funds as I do have where they are, for better or for worse; if that bank were to fail then there would be few other safer havens, I fear.