‘Slick Rick’ has a wealth of City experience – but his background in banking is limited - Michael Cole/Corbis Sport
At MasterCard’s annual general meeting in 2019, then-chairman Rick Haythornthwaite was asked why the company was not doing more to stop processing payments for far-Right hate groups.
Haythornthwaite acknowledged that it was a difficult issue, but stressed that the payments giant must follow the law when it came to transactions.
He said: “From a philosophical standpoint… it is not our job to work out whether something is lawful or unlawful.
“If it is lawful, then we need to respect that transaction. If it’s something that is swimming against the tide of society, it’s for the society to rise up and change the law and then we can move on this.” He added that MasterCard was “very strong” on privacy.
Such an approach will serve Haythornthwaite, 66, well in his new job as chairman of NatWest Group after the bank was plunged into a crisis over the botched closure of Nigel Farage’s accounts.
The row over his debanking began in June after Coutts, which is owned by NatWest, said it would close the former Brexit campaigner’s account with little notice. It was later revealed that the private bank shut Farage’s accounts because his views did not align with the bank’s “values” and were at odds with its “position as an inclusive organisation”.
NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose was forced to resign after admitting to being the source of an inaccurate BBC story about Nigel Farage - Nicholas.T.Ansell/PA
Last week, Haythornthwaite, a City veteran with the sobriquet “Slick Rick”, was picked to steer the 40pc taxpayer-owned bank out of its current storm and into calmer waters. He will join the board in early January before succeeding Sir Howard Davies as chairman next April.
The task will not be straightforward. In his first few months in the job, the Oxford-educated Brit must oversee the appointment of Dame Alison’s permanent successor as chief executive. He will also need to quickly mend relations between the bank and the Government – its largest shareholder – after ministers were left furious by the Farage debanking scandal.
Gary Greenwood, a banking analyst at Shore Capital, says: “[Haythornthwaite]’s biggest job will be finding a suitable new CEO.
“After that, it is about trying to keep all stakeholders happy, which is not an easy task when NatWest is in the spotlight even more than most banks due to it still having around 40pc government ownership.”
His appointment has been approved by both the Treasury and the City watchdog, with the former confident that Haythornthwaite will be able to steady the ship at NatWest.
Haythornthwaite, who studied at both Queen’s College, Oxford and MIT, spent most of his career at BP, rising up the ranks to manage the largest oilfield in the North Sea, Magnus.
He went on to run a series of businesses ranging from cement to engineering before running the boards of some of Britain’s most high-profile businesses, including British Gas-owner Centrica, Ocado and Network Rail.
A government source says: “Rick has over two decades of experience leading some of the biggest commercial companies and is a widely respected choice to chair one of the UK’s largest banks.”
While he has a wealth of experience, his tenures have not always been straightforward. He was accused by union bosses of presiding over a “gravy train” at Network Rail after approving a £2.4m bonus pot for directors in 2010.
It came despite then transport secretary Philip Hammond urging Haythornthwaite to show “restraint” on bonuses. Hammond had written a letter to the then Network Rail chair urging him to “display a sensitivity to the wider economic climate”.
Haythornthwaite has run the boards of some of Britain’s most high-profile businesses, including Centrica, Ocado and Network Rail - DANIEL JONES
Haythornthwaite also faced a backlash over pay at Centrica and was criticised by a prominent shareholder advisory group for holding too many board positions at once.
Some in the City were surprised that NatWest did not pick someone with banking experience. While Haythornthwaite holds an advisory position at investment bank Moelis, he has never worked at a high street lender.
Greenwood says: “I’m a bit surprised they have not gone for someone with more banking experience.
“That said, it’s hard to find candidates that aren’t tarnished by the past, so perhaps having an experienced non-banker has its attractions.”
Besides recovering from the debanking scandal, other issues the City veteran will have to contend with include: the declining use of cash, with NatWest coming under fire in recent months after imposing new limits on cash deposits and withdrawals; branch closures; and helping to manage the Government’s sale of its remaining stake in the bank.
Under current plans, the Treasury intends to offload its 38.8pc holding in NatWest by the end of 2026.
In an interview with consulting giant McKinsey in 2020, NatWest’s incoming chairman outlined what boards want from their executives during times of crisis.
Haythornthwaite said: “Boards need CEOs who can handle multiple truths, who can be expansive in thinking, and who can live comfortably in the future and bring the company along for the ride.”
He added that “boards still want to sleep… we like to sleep soundly at night”. After a restless few months, sentiments like this will be warmly welcomed by NatWest’s directors.
