KEY POINTS:
Fred Goodwin, Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive, appears to be relishing the takeover battle for Dutch bank ABN Amro as he moved this week to grab back the initiative on the deal.
An RBS-led consortium stumped up more cash to buy ABN and Goodwin continues to spearhead
the €71 billion ($123 billion) offer, even though RBS's two partners - Santander and Fortis - stand to gain more from the deal.
Goodwin has said in the past he has no time for spectators and with ABN in his sights, he has said he gave little thought to scrapping the deal even after a key Dutch court ruling went against him on Friday.
The charismatic and steely Scot has helped build RBS into the world's ninth biggest bank, continuing a path begun by his predecessor, George Mathewson, that has transformed the bank over the past 15 years.
The chase for ABN is testing Goodwin's reputation as one of banking's shrewdest and most successful deal-makers.
Since 1999, a year after he arrived at RBS as CEO-in-waiting, the bank has bought and integrated 26 businesses with a combined value of £33 billion ($85 billion).
One analyst accused him of megalomania after buying US bank Charter One three years ago. Goodwin has in recent years put his head down and focused on organic growth, but said the ABN opportunity was too good to pass up after its British rival Barclays agreed to buy ABN.
"Fred the Shred" - a nickname earned for his ability to squeeze out costs - had wanted to get his hands on ABN's businesses in the United States, Asia and investment banking. Goodwin says the two other parts are still worth the chase.
As a young CEO at smaller Scottish bank Clydesdale, Goodwin was quoted as saying he had no time for "cynics, spectators or dead wood".
That philosophy has continued and is evident in his pursuit of ABN.
Goodwin, 48, is friendly and courteous yet has a blunt, no-nonsense approach.
He is available to the press more than most bank CEOs, yet profiles on him are rare - reflecting his dislike of them.
A keen golfer and Formula One motor racing fan - his golf partners have included Jack Nicklaus and Jackie Stewart - he once spent years restoring a Triumph Stag.
He also chairs the Prince's Trust charity that helps disadvantaged under-30s in business.
The electrician's son studied law at Glasgow University before qualifying as an accountant.
He made his mark in banking by helping clean up the mess of collapsed BCCI bank in the early 1990s.
National Australia Bank appointed him as Clydesdale chief executive at the age of 36, before RBS's Mathewson lured him to RBS as his deputy.
A year later in 1999, RBS approached Barclays at least twice about taking over its bigger rival but was rebuffed.
Mathewson and Goodwin switched target and in 2000 pulled off the bold takeover of NatWest. Goodwin took over as CEO on completion of that deal. What remains Britain's biggest bank takeover catapulted both Goodwin and his bank into the big time.
Goodwin's relationship with the City is not always smooth, however, and he has appeared frustrated that his track record on deals and growth has not been rewarded by a higher rating for RBS shares amid concerns he will make more acquisitions.
RBS shares almost trebled between 1998 and mid-2002, but have advanced less than 5 per cent since then.
Goodwin, knighted in 2004 for services to banking and the longest-serving CEO of a big British bank, has said he will walk away if a deal stops making sense, but for now he appears to be enjoying the fight.
- REUTERS
