Bernard Ginns: Speak clearly to restore trust in damaged finance sector

The best way to help rebuild that trust is to have a clear and consistent message in all communications. Royal Bank of Scotland singularly failed in this last week.

On Thursday afternoon, RBS made an announcement to staff in its insurance division about its office strategy for the next three years.

As a condition of receiving taxpayer support, RBS is being forced by the European Commission to sell its insurance business under state aid rules.

It intends to close 14 of its 27 offices under existing plans to cut 2,000 jobs.

The insurance division employs around 3,600 people in Yorkshire, at three offices in Leeds and one in Doncaster.

An RBS spokesman told the Yorkshire Post on Thursday that "there's no change in Yorkshire". He added: "No offices are being exited. The good news is these sites are all going to be core sites for us. It's business as usual. If anything, they may have their remit expanded".

On Friday afternoon, a caller to the newspaper had a different story to tell: RBS is closing the claims department in the Doncaster operation with the loss of jobs.

In response, the RBS spokesman said the Doncaster office will become "a regional centre of excellence" and as a result "the claims operation will cease to exist" and with it 148 roles.

He promised there would be opportunities elsewhere in Doncaster or Leeds for the 148 affected staff, although there could be no guarantee that everybody would find a new job.

Asked why he didn't disclose this on Thursday, he said: "Because we have not worked out any detail. Everything (on Thursday was about the building and property strategy and nothing to do with roles. I did not have any of the detail."

He added: "Don't think I was trying to mislead you because it simply was not the case."

Okay, but that is not what any reasonable person would call a clear and consistent message. The net result of which is a further erosion of trust.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the uncertainty caused by the impending withdrawal of public spending from the economy in the North of England.

Many businesses that I speak to are worried about the impact this will have on an already anaemic economic recovery. Nevertheless, there will be new market opportunities for some as the public sector retreats.

One area for opportunity is in business support. Simon Hill, an executive at the regional development agency, said he believes the market for business support in Yorkshire is worth 100m. Could high street accountants, lawyers and marketing firms step up and offer an alternative paid-for service?

Colin Glass, a Leeds accountant with a track record of helping small businesses grow into bigger businesses, wrote to offer his view.

He said: "You say that the services offered by Business Link are available commercially to high street professional service firms. They are, but only from a relatively small number of such firms with partners and employees who have had the experience of being at the 'sharp end' of start-up and growing business situations and who are prepared to provide the immense amount of hands-on mentoring and assistance that are needed by such situations.

"Also, many of these fledgling companies, and even those companies at a more advance stage of their development, cannot afford to pay for the service on offer – I know this from first-hand experience!

"We are one of the few firms who are prepared to take a risk on our fees in the early stages of a business, with a view to creating a viable and sustainable company where we can share in the added value that we help create.

"To encourage more professional firms, including accountants, lawyers and marketing consultants to take such a risk, the Government should provide some financial assistance in a structured and controlled way.

"Such firms should be accredited to be entitled to such assistance, once they have shown that they have the experience and resource to provide the service.

"There is a serious opportunity for the Local Enterprise Partnerships or for the Yorkshire Enterprise Partnership to take the lead in this area, as the creation and sustainability of SMEs is a vital part in the regeneration of the national and local economy."

I agree, but it remains to be seen how much money will be available for business support after the more important public services in education and health are paid for. Very little, I suspect.