THE guard has changed. We are at the dawn of a new era.
From today Stephen Hester is chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland.
Sir Fred Goodwin, who held that post for more than eight years, is no more.
Actually he is staying on until the end of January for a hand over period but the power has f
ormally shifted at this once mighty Edinburgh-based institution.
Before looking at what is likely to change in the Hester era, it is worth briefly looking back.
Sir Fred and and Sir Tom McKillop, the RBS chairman, had haunted looks about them when they appeared at the special shareholders' meeting yesterday.
Both men apologised for allowing the bank to get into the state it is now in, where it has to be rescued by the government - though, in fairness, it is not the only institution in that position.
For two business high achievers, it must have been very difficult to make such an admission. When you are used to success - and have become accustomed to it - admitting to failing, or being perceived to have failed, is psychologically uncomfortable.
Cynics will say that both were well rewarded, though when they step down (McKillop goes in April) they will not receive any pay offs.
But it is about more than money. It is about pride. It is about the judgement of your peers. It is about self-esteem. Both men are tough. Neither got to the top by being big softies. But one wonders if they have had - or will have - long dark nights of the soul.
For Hester, is different. He pointedly said yesterday that he had not been "tainted" by the crisis which has engulfed RBS, and banking in general, in the last two years.
Until recently safely ensconced at British Land - which had a mere 10% wiped of its land values of late but is otherwise doing not too badly - Hester, although a banker to trade, can credibly claim it wissnae him.
Now he is in full control we can expect him to drive ahead quickly with his root and branch review of the company.
Although we will not know the full extent of his plans until February next year, we can be sure that RBS will be significantly pruned back.
And that will inevitably mean job losses across its global operation with its UK bases, including its Gogarburn headquarters in Edinburgh, also feeling the pinch.
Those who know him say that Hester is both unsentimental and ruthless in business. So when he says, as he has done, that there are no sacred cows, he means it.
He is not, to use his word, tainted. He is a banker, but not a Scottish banker. He has enormous pressure on him to succeed but also a huge opportunity ahead as the bank is hardly likely to go any lower.
It is definitely not a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
* One member of the senior management at RBS who has been praised by Hester is John Hourican, the chief executive officer of its global banking and markets division. He will be profiled in tomorrow's business section of The Scotsman.
Peter MacMahon is The Scotsman's Business Editor. Read more of his blogs at the scotsman.com Business Club. Click here to find out more.The full article contains 572 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
