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CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
CNBC's UK Exchange newsletter: A lament for the losses on Royal Bank of Scotland
In my more than 30 years in financial journalism, few memories are stronger than those of Tuesday, April 22, 2008, the day Royal Bank of Scotland — then one of the world's biggest banks — announced it was tapping shareholders for £12 billion ($16 billion). The sum was, at the time, a record for a rights issue by a European company and followed the U.K. bank's calamitous acquisition, the previous autumn, of the Dutch lender ABN AMRO. That deal was supposed to have been the crowning glory of Fred Goodwin, the RBS chief executive, a former accountant who, for the previous eight years, had established himself as the sector's biggest name following RBS' takeover of National Westminster Bank (NatWest) in early 2000. As deputy to CEO George Mathewson, Goodwin had earned the nickname "Fred The Shred" for his cost-cutting prowess. He was no shrinking violet; nor was Mathewson himself, who won notoriety in 2001 when he shrugged off shareholder criticism of that year's executive bonuses by saying "they would not win bragging power in a Soho wine bar." That confidence ran right through RBS. In March 2001, barely a year after the NatWest acquisition completed, Goodwin — in a typically laconic remark — told me he was contemplating "mercy killings" of other U.K. banks. Those killings never came to pass but, in the subsequent six years, RBS quadrupled in size as it made a string of acquisitions including of U.K. insurers Churchill and Direct Line, the U.S. lender Charter One (for a then eye-watering $10.5 billion), a 10% stake in Bank of China and, somewhat improbably, the car dealership Dixon Motors in April 2002. That year saw him crowned Businessman of the Year by Forbes magazine. By the time he launched the bid for ABN AMRO in April 2007, trumping a deal the latter had previously agreed with Barclays, Goodwin was top dog in U.K. banking. All of which made that rights issue in April 2008 so dramatic. A press conference was hastily convened for midday at RBS's old London headquarters. (The global head office, opened in 2005, was a gigantic campus at Gogarburn, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, built at a cost of £350 million on a site formerly occupied by a psychiatric hospital and nicknamed "Fred's Folly" by locals). I took my place in the presentation center on the ground floor of the building alongside Peter Thal Larsen, then banking editor of the Financial Times, as Tom McKillop, the career pharmacist who had succeeded Mathewson as RBS chairman in 2006, thanked us for coming and invited Goodwin to make his presentation. Gone was the super-confident figure to whom we had become accustomed. "He looks like a condemned man mounting the scaffold," I whispered to Peter. During the press conference, McKillop had to fend off questions about whether Goodwin would be dismissed, pushing back at suggestions that the board were "patsies" who had not sufficiently challenged their CEO. "There is no single individual responsible for these events, and to look for a sacrificial lamb just misses the whole point," McKillop said. I wrote in my diary that night: "McKillop came close to losing it a couple of times, particularly when grilled on the board composition. Fred Goodwin looked chastened but composed." This wasn't an investment — it was a rescue Memories of that day came flooding back when, at the end of last week, the U.K. government finally sold its remaining shareholding in NatWest (as RBS was rechristened in July 2020). By the time RBS got its money in 2008, its share price had fallen by a quarter, wiping more from its stock market value than it raised in the rights issue. On Oct. 7, 2008, with corporate customers rushing to withdraw their money, McKillop was forced to ask Alistair Darling, the then Chancellor, for a bailout that eventually cost Goodwin his job. As has been well documented, Gordon Brown's government took control of the bank, pumping in £45.5 billion in 2008 and 2009 to acquire a stake that peaked at nearly 85%. Over the years, the government has recouped some £35 billion via fees, dividends and share sales, crystallizing a loss on disposal of nearly £10.5 billion. That figure has, naturally, featured heavily in U.K. media coverage. However, much of the commentary has overlooked that the government concluded more than a decade ago that a loss would be made on the shareholding, as well as the fact that this was never supposed to be an investment generating a positive return for taxpayers — it was a rescue. One commentator even suggested RBS/NatWest should have been allowed to fail, arguing that "we could have surely done something more productive with all the money that was tied up in NatWest for the last 17 years," rather overlooking the catastrophic impact the bank's failure would have had. At the time of the rescue, RBS's balance sheet was bigger than the entire U.K. economy. That the U.K. taxpayer lost £10.5 billion over a 17-year period is, of course, depressing. But it is compounded by the fact that, during the period, RBS/NatWest was obliged to offload a number of valuable assets, including Direct Line and its U.S. banking business Citizens, as conditions of its bail-out (the U.K. was, at the time, subject to the European Commission's state aid rules). Much money was also wasted trying to carve out a separate retail bank which was to have been demerged in the name of enhancing competition, again at the behest of Europe, under the exhumed Williams & Glyn brand. Saddest of all was the forced sale of WorldPay, a payments processing business, to U.S. private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International for just $3 billion in August 2010. The business was later floated on the London Stock Exchange, later still taken private and then sold in March 2019 to the U.S. fintech firm FIS for $43 billion — a considerably bigger loss of value than anything endured by the U.K. government on its RBS/NatWest shares. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that had the U.K. not been bound by the European Commission's state aid rules, as is the case today, the destruction of value would have been far lower. A couple of things are probably more important, longer term, than any loss incurred by taxpayers. The first is that the lessons from the RBS collapse have been properly learned. Many people now working in senior positions in U.K. financial services were still at school or college at the time of the bailout, but institutional memory of the event remains exceptionally strong, not least among U.K. regulators. The main reason RBS failed, exacerbated by the hubristic ABN AMRO acquisition and the procyclical U.K. financial regulations at the time, was because it was over-leveraged. Post-financial-crisis regulation has aimed at reducing procyclicality and banks have been obliged to increase their capital buffers. The second is that under Goodwin's successors — Stephen Hester, Ross McEwan, Alison Rose and Paul Thwaite — RBS/NatWest has been reshaped into a financially robust and highly profitable lender well-placed to contribute to U.K. growth in coming years thanks, in particular, to its strong position in business banking. Much of the profit it throws off in the coming years is likely to be handed back to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buy-backs. On that basis, while some will celebrate the fact that a line has been drawn by the government removing itself from NatWest's shareholder register, others will question why, exactly, it could not have held onto its shareholding for a little longer. It would be interesting to hear what readers think.'We can't afford not to do this': Former defense secretary talks UK arms spend Former U.K. Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt tells Silvia Amaro the UK's new defense spend pledge "is not worth the paper it's written on" without the money to accompany it. Jim O'Neil: Donald Trump is undermining the cyclical and structural outlook for the U.S. dollar Jim O'Neil, former U.K. Treasury Minister and former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, joins CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" to discuss how the U.S. dollar's global dominance may be challenged, whether alternatives to the dollar exist, and more. Who owns London's (privately owned) public spaces? Privately-owned public spaces — or POPS — have transformed cities over the past sixty years. But their ownership is regularly questioned — and with it, their design, accessibility and what they've put on a war footing with defense overhaul — but is it too little, too late? Analysts and economists argue that the U.K.'s new defense spending plans could ultimately prove to be too little, too late — and may be difficult to deliver, given fiscal constraints in the U.K. UK growth to be reined in by public finance squeeze, OECD warns. While the budget deficit is expected to improve from 5.3% in 2025 to 4.5% in 2026, according to OECD forecasts, debt interest spending remains high. Trump's visa ban could be Britain's big break in the race for top Chinese talent. British universities are preparing to attract international Chinese students after President Donald Trump's administration cracked down on visas for Chinese students studying in the U.S.U.K. stocks have kicked off the new month with a whimper rather than a bang, with both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 near-flat over the last two sessions. That's more so a reflection of broadly cautious market sentiment than negativity toward U.K. assets, as uncertainty over the global trade outlook continues to muddy the trading waters. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's defense spending plan gave a modest boost to stocks in the sector such as Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Babcock, all of which have soared in the year-to-date. Sterling, meanwhile, has seen a solid few sessions despite a dip Tuesday, with the pound back above the $1.35 level. The greenback has become one of the most punished assets on the back of U.S. tariff tensions, which ratcheted up late last week following President Donald Trump's announcement of 50% duties on steel imports.
The Sun
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
TDCX Founder and CEO, Laurent Junique, named Businessman of the Year; launches new venture to help enterprises navigate complexity and unlock full potential of AI
· Chemin is a key pillar in enabling TDCX to tap $1 trillion AI services opportunity · Brings together more than 50 technologists from 18 countries to accelerate AI adoption SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 22 May 2025 - Mr. Laurent Junique, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TDCX, a leading global business process outsourcing (BPO) company for technology and blue-chip companies, was today named the Businessman of the Year at the Singapore Business Awards (SBA) 2025. This is the second time TDCX has been honored at the Awards, with the company clinching the Enterprise Award in 2021/2022. Mr Junique was recognized for his bold vision to create a world-class customer experience company in 1995, at a time when outsourcing in Asia was still uncharted territory. Thirty years on, TDCX is a global leader present in more than 16 geographies with more than 20,000 employees. Mr Junique said, 'Winning the Businessman of the Year award is incredibly humbling. I'm truly grateful to everyone who's helped and inspired me along the journey. I want to share this recognition with our amazing team, and my wonderful wife and family who've supported me through it all. 'This recognition comes at an important juncture for us. Not only is it a moment for everyone at TDCX to celebrate our bravery in aiming for what seemed impossible when we first started, but also our resilience in the face of challenges and relentless pursuit of excellence. As technology rapidly reshapes the customer experience (CX) space, we're evolving too, expanding beyond CX into AI services. This strategic move allows us to increase our total addressable market from $500 billion to over $1 trillion.' Chemin: Simplifying the future of AI To that end, TDCX has launched Chemin, an AI enablement company that helps businesses adopt and scale AI with clarity and confidence. Chemin, which means 'path' in French, was established to solve the challenges companies face in AI implementation by charting a smarter, more systematic course for AI integration, simplifying a journey often marked by complexity and confusion. While the Generative AI (GenAI) market is projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2032[1], companies are still struggling to operationalize it. Up to seven in 10 companies[2] struggle to integrate GenAI with existing systems and workflows, while 63 per cent lack confidence in their data management practices for AI[3]. It has also been predicted that through 2026, almost two-thirds of AI projects will be abandoned if there is no quality data to support it[4] — highlighting the importance of data preparation and technical integration in successful enterprise AI adoption. At its core, Chemin is built to solve the key barriers to successful AI adoption: fragmented data, lack of integration capabilities, and limited access to AI expertise. The company offers comprehensive support in data sourcing and transformation, model refinement and training, and workflow design to help businesses accelerate their AI implementation journey. Chemin's access to a vast network of industry specialists, such as robotics researchers, genomics experts and PhD professionals, coupled with its proprietary industry-specific data sets enable it to help enterprises accelerate their AI adoption journey. A proven track record and global capabilities The launch of Chemin builds on TDCX's forays into AI enablement, with its earlier tie-up with SUPA, a GenAI-powered data labeling company. The company has more than 50 specialists trained in large language models (LLMs) and data engineers based in labs across more than 18 countries. The team has completed more than 20 pilots — ranging from medical ultrasound annotation to enhancing data quality for design-to-code training in startup environments. Chemin, backed by TDCX's strong balance sheet and decades of experience, is well-positioned to accelerate AI adoption for clients by providing the infrastructure, expertise, and end-to-end support needed to scale AI effectively. Promotes internal talent to lead Chemin TDCX has appointed Ms. Lianne Dehaye, Senior Vice President, to lead Chemin. Ms. Dehaye's strong grasp of AI technologies and strong track record of driving innovation provides her with a keen understanding of how AI can transform business operations. Her practical, results-driven solutions approach has also seen her help clients successfully navigate their AI transformation journeys. Mr. Junique, said, 'Lianne has been integral to helping our clients integrate AI into their CX strategy. What sets her apart is her ability to demystify complex AI concepts and translate them into clear, actionable steps that drive real business impact. Her leadership will be key as Chemin continues to help organizations scale AI with confidence and clarity.' Ms. Dehaye, said, 'AI is a tremendous opportunity for businesses, but turning potential into performance is where many fall short. Implementation takes discipline, focus, and the right expertise. This is especially tough for traditional businesses and small- and medium-sized enterprises, which lack the expertise and resources to help them. 'At Chemin, our mission is to guide companies through the complexity of AI adoption. Drawing on TDCX's decades of helping companies leverage technology for superior CX outcomes, we help organizations build a clear roadmap, from defining outcomes to training models and scaling solutions that deliver real impact.' The launch of Chemin is the latest in TDCX's corporate milestones, the most recent being the acquisition of Open Access BPO. The Singapore Business Awards (SBA) is jointly organised by The Business Times, a business daily published by SPH Media Limited, and DHL, the global market leader of the international express and logistics industry. SBA has grown in stature to become Singapore's most prestigious accolades in the business and corporate sectors. The awards comprise Businessman of The Year, Outstanding Chief Executive of The Year, Outstanding Overseas Executive of The Year, The Enterprise Award and Young Business Leader of The Year.
Arabian Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
TDCX Founder and CEO, Laurent Junique, named Businessman of the Year; launches new venture to help enterprises navigate complexity and unlock full potential of AI
Chemin is a key pillar in enabling TDCX to tap $1 trillion AI services opportunity Brings together more than 50 technologists from 18 countries to accelerate AI adoption SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 22 May 2025 – Mr. Laurent Junique, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TDCX, a leading global business process outsourcing (BPO) company for technology and blue-chip companies, was today named the Businessman of the Year at the Singapore Business Awards (SBA) 2025. Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport of Singapore, presenting the Businessman of the Year 2025 award to Mr Laurent Junique, Founder and CEO of TDCX held at Ritz Carlton, Millenia. This is the second time TDCX has been honored at the Awards, with the company clinching the Enterprise Award in 2021/2022. Mr Junique was recognized for his bold vision to create a world-class customer experience company in 1995, at a time when outsourcing in Asia was still uncharted territory. Thirty years on, TDCX is a global leader present in more than 16 geographies with more than 20,000 employees. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Junique said, 'Winning the Businessman of the Year award is incredibly humbling. I'm truly grateful to everyone who's helped and inspired me along the journey. I want to share this recognition with our amazing team, and my wonderful wife and family who've supported me through it all. 'This recognition comes at an important juncture for us. Not only is it a moment for everyone at TDCX to celebrate our bravery in aiming for what seemed impossible when we first started, but also our resilience in the face of challenges and relentless pursuit of excellence. As technology rapidly reshapes the customer experience (CX) space, we're evolving too, expanding beyond CX into AI services. This strategic move allows us to increase our total addressable market from $500 billion to over $1 trillion.' Chemin: Simplifying the future of AI Chemin's clean, typography-led logo symbolizes the brand's mission to simplify AI adoption through sharp thinking and a clear, systematic and actionable framework. To that end, TDCX has launched Chemin, an AI enablement company that helps businesses adopt and scale AI with clarity and confidence. Chemin, which means 'path' in French, was established to solve the challenges companies face in AI implementation by charting a smarter, more systematic course for AI integration, simplifying a journey often marked by complexity and confusion. While the Generative AI (GenAI) market is projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2032[1], companies are still struggling to operationalize it. Up to seven in 10 companies[2] struggle to integrate GenAI with existing systems and workflows, while 63 per cent lack confidence in their data management practices for AI[3]. It has also been predicted that through 2026, almost two-thirds of AI projects will be abandoned if there is no quality data to support it[4] — highlighting the importance of data preparation and technical integration in successful enterprise AI adoption. At its core, Chemin is built to solve the key barriers to successful AI adoption: fragmented data, lack of integration capabilities, and limited access to AI expertise. The company offers comprehensive support in data sourcing and transformation, model refinement and training, and workflow design to help businesses accelerate their AI implementation journey. ADVERTISEMENT Chemin's access to a vast network of industry specialists, such as robotics researchers, genomics experts and PhD professionals, coupled with its proprietary industry-specific data sets enable it to help enterprises accelerate their AI adoption journey. A proven track record and global capabilities The launch of Chemin builds on TDCX's forays into AI enablement, with its earlier tie-up with SUPA, a GenAI-powered data labeling company. The company has more than 50 specialists trained in large language models (LLMs) and data engineers based in labs across more than 18 countries. The team has completed more than 20 pilots — ranging from medical ultrasound annotation to enhancing data quality for design-to-code training in startup environments. Chemin, backed by TDCX's strong balance sheet and decades of experience, is well-positioned to accelerate AI adoption for clients by providing the infrastructure, expertise, and end-to-end support needed to scale AI effectively. Promotes internal talent to lead Chemin TDCX has appointed Ms. Lianne Dehaye, Senior Vice President, to lead Chemin. Ms. Dehaye's strong grasp of AI technologies and strong track record of driving innovation provides her with a keen understanding of how AI can transform business operations. Her practical, results-driven solutions approach has also seen her help clients successfully navigate their AI transformation journeys. Mr. Junique, said, 'Lianne has been integral to helping our clients integrate AI into their CX strategy. What sets her apart is her ability to demystify complex AI concepts and translate them into clear, actionable steps that drive real business impact. Her leadership will be key as Chemin continues to help organizations scale AI with confidence and clarity.' Ms. Dehaye, said, 'AI is a tremendous opportunity for businesses, but turning potential into performance is where many fall short. Implementation takes discipline, focus, and the right expertise. This is especially tough for traditional businesses and small- and medium-sized enterprises, which lack the expertise and resources to help them. 'At Chemin, our mission is to guide companies through the complexity of AI adoption. Drawing on TDCX's decades of helping companies leverage technology for superior CX outcomes, we help organizations build a clear roadmap, from defining outcomes to training models and scaling solutions that deliver real impact.' The launch of Chemin is the latest in TDCX's corporate milestones, the most recent being the acquisition of Open Access BPO. Note to editor: The Singapore Business Awards (SBA) is jointly organised by The Business Times, a business daily published by SPH Media Limited, and DHL, the global market leader of the international express and logistics industry. SBA has grown in stature to become Singapore's most prestigious accolades in the business and corporate sectors. The awards comprise Businessman of The Year, Outstanding Chief Executive of The Year, Outstanding Overseas Executive of The Year, The Enterprise Award and Young Business Leader of The Year. Hashtag: #TDCX The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About TDCX Singapore-headquartered TDCX is a leading global business process outsourcing (BPO) company that provides customer experience (CX) solutions, sales and digital marketing services, and content moderation for clients across various industries. These include digital advertising and social media, e-commerce, fintech, gaming, healthtech, media, technology and, travel and hospitality. With a focus on helping companies enable the future, TDCX's smart, scalable approach—driven by innovation and operational precision—positions it as a key partner for companies targeting tangible outcomes. With more than 20,000 employees across 39 locations worldwide, TDCX provides its clients with comprehensive coverage in Asia, Europe and the United States. For more information, please visit About Chemin Chemin is an AI-enablement company that empowers businesses to realize their AI ambitions. Specializing in large language models (LLMs), Chemin helps companies move faster, think bigger, and build smarter with clean data, cutting-edge infrastructure, and expert talent across 18 countries. Chemin's access to a vast network of industry specialists such as PhD level professionals provides companies with an edge in their AI-adoption journey. With a blend of human insight and machine intelligence, Chemin makes it possible to scale AI safely and meaningfully. For more information, visit
Business Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
TDCX founder Laurent Junique wins top prize at 40th Singapore Business Awards
[SINGAPORE] Laurent Junique, founder and chief executive of Singapore-headquartered TDCX, was named Businessman of the Year at the 40th Singapore Business Awards (SBA), organised by The Business Times and logistics heavyweight DHL. The awards acknowledge contributions made by companies and business leaders to Singapore's development, encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in the Republic and recognise excellence in corporate management. Junique, who was recognised for his leadership in driving a world-class digital customer experience, accepted the award at the awards ceremony held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore on Thursday (May 22) evening. Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat was the guest of honour. The Frenchman turned Singaporean said: 'This recognition comes at a great time for us. Not only is it a moment for everyone at TDCX to celebrate our bravery in aiming for what seemed impossible when we first started, but also our resilience in the face of challenges and relentless pursuit of excellence. 'Now, as tech rapidly changes the customer experience (CX) space, we have been making moves to get into the next phase. We're investing in the future – expanding from pure CX to new areas, like artificial intelligence services. This will help us grow our total addressable market from US$500 billion to over US$1 trillion.' Four other awards were also presented at the ceremony. GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up VIEW ALL Helen Wong, group CEO of OCBC, was named the Outstanding Chief Executive of the Year. She was lauded for sharpening OCBC's Asean-Greater China focus and maximising the synergies of the group's banking, wealth management, insurance and asset management franchise. Irving Tan, CEO of Western Digital Corporation, was presented with the Outstanding Overseas Executive of the Year award, due to his track record in driving operational excellence and transforming the global operations of the company's hard disk drive business. Singapore-listed Aztech Global clinched the Enterprise Award, as the Internet-of-Things and electronics product solutions provider has driven sustainable growth through innovation and manufacturing excellence. The award was received by Michael Mun, the company's executive chair and CEO. Carro co-founder and CEO Aaron Tan was recognised as Young Business Leader of the Year, for building a technology-first company that is revolutionising the automotive marketplace. Key focus areas for an uncertain global environment Chee gave a speech at the dinner, in which he focused on some key areas for Singapore to respond to a more turbulent and uncertain global environment. He said Singapore can further strengthen its position as a trusted business hub through several ways, such as maintaining a strong tripartite partnership between government, employers and unions; remaining open to ideas, talent and investments from around the world; and working with industry partners to create a more pro-enterprise environment for the country's businesses.
