Matt Crossman: Why stewardship matters

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) executives led the largest banking takeover ever in 2007 - and their due diligence for the €71bn (£62.5bn) purchase of ABN Amro was two ring-binders and a CD-ROM.  And yet almost 95% of the RBS shareholders who voted on this classic "top-of-the-market" deal approved it after the board of directors waved it through. Large institutional investors in particular were subsequently criticised for their apparent passivity, with the Treasury Select Committee suggesting they had "a case to answer" for failing to engage with and challenge investee companies. The abilit...