Nowhere is more sexist than the City – but at least now a woman is at the top of a big time British bank

Alison Rose’s appointment to run RBS is the most significant leap of any woman in UK business, writes Chris Blackhurst

Rose has 27 years of service behind her at RBS (Reuters)

There is a scene in the compelling film Too Big To Fail, documenting the banking collapse of 2008, in which the US treasury secretary Hank Paulson, together with the president of the Federal Reserve, Timothy Geithner, gathers the heads of the biggest US banks, including Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, and Morgan Stanley chief John Mack. The purpose is to try to persuade them to underwrite the purchase of the stricken Lehman Brothers by Bank of America.

It’s a dramatic episode. More so, when away from the table, Bank of America is then approached by a troubled Merrill Lynch, and Bank of America agrees to buy it instead. That leaves the British bank, Barclays, as the only possible saviour for Lehman, and it’s blocked by the UK regulators.

The picture reeks of power – failing clout maybe, but nevertheless the testosterone flies off the screen. Not least, because you realise that every single person involved, in camera, sitting in the chairs and also on the phone, at Bank of America, Merrill, Lehman, Barclays and the authorities, is a man.