The learning curve on operating the drone was steep, and Mr. Goodwin says he has crashed the carbon-fiber copter a few times.

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Unusually for a major bank, RBS has virtually zero exposure to Latin America and Asia, and Goodwin says that he's still not attracted to those volatile markets.

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"We're still learning, we're still making mistakes, but to actually be in control of your own destiny means we can cut through a lot of stuff that maybe other boardrooms can't because it's real fans, " Goodwin says.

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"Brands are what stand between you and your customer, " says Goodwin, on a wintery evening in Edinburgh.

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More of the same, says Goodwin.

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Bancassurance does not spread the burden of costs much, says Andrew Goodwin at Commerzbank.

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"Whether it was squeezing the fat out of NatWest or not overpaying for silly deals in America, which every Brit bank seems to do, Goodwin has always managed to deliver, " says Michael Denny, the chairman of Northern Ventures Managers, a venture-capital firm.

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Before dumping a co-founder, also make sure you have access to key information, such as the firm's bank account and Internet passwords, and that any intellectual property critical to the business is owned by the firm and not the person you're planning to push out, says Anthony McCusker, a partner with law firm Goodwin Procter in Menlo Park, Calif.

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But the financier says he has a witness - multimillionaire hedge fund manager James Goodwin - to a conversation he and Mr Osborne had about the matter, and has let it be known that he would go to court over the matter.

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"Sir Fred Goodwin agreed to stay in post until his successor was appointed and available, " the letter says.

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