It had to be preserved, and Foster's scheme for so doing entailed sweeping away the clutter of now obsolete bookstack buildings from around it and covering the court with a light glass-and-steel roof, creating Europe's largest enclosed space, which will function as the access core of the museum.
And there would have to be some kind of automated funds-sweeping mechanism, such that the proceeds are split between the relevant individual and the Exchequer - because the scheme as devised would allow you, me and the 49, 999, 998 other new bank proprietors to scoop only those profits that may be available after the Treasury has been repaid what it invested in RBS and Lloyds.