As the crash unfolded, it seemed to me that the aftermath held an important story not just in the unimaginable scale of events, but the reasons why bright, educated bankers make the mistakes and misjudgements they do.

Trillions of pounds of assets, enough to bring financial misery to the world. The scale of money involved was unthinkable.

The crash was no respecter of reputation or history: Lehmans, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Bank, all at risk. It was impossible to believe that the goliaths of the banking world were being brought to their knees by events that seemed to be spiralling out of control. My mobile phone never stopped ringing: friends and colleagues keen to share the latest news about the financial crash. “In September 2008 I stood in the concourse of Euston Station waiting for a delayed train home. Together with an investigator, John Kratsky, Alex Shepherd follows a trail of missing files and suspicious deaths to uncover Michael’s hiding place and the reason for his disappearance.Īs the investigation reaches its conclusion, it becomes clear that there are political as well as financial factors involved in the story, and that the fate of Michael, Alex, John Kratsky and Scottish Imperial Bank are in the balance. Michael’s friend, Alex Shepherd, Risk Director at Scottish Imperial Bank is appointed by the Bank’s Chairman, Sir Euan McPhee to head the internal investigation into Michael’s disappearance. His friends and colleagues are left to piece together the reasons behind his disappearance whilst Michael, having taken refuge in a property owned by Scott Ryder, has chance to reflect on his life and the reasons why events have unfolded as they have. Two years after the crash and it has become clear to Michael and Scott that the deal to save the bank was not all that it seemed.Īfter his mother’s funeral, Michael disappears from his home. Together with an associate, Scott Ryder, mercurial founder of a venture capital business, Metis Group, he was responsible for putting together a deal that saved the bank during the banking crisis of 2008. Michael Turner is an affluent, successful banker, happily married, with two teenage children and a family pedigree that dates all the way back to the English Civil War.Īmbitious and determined, Michael has worked his way up the corporate ladder to become a senior executive with Scottish Imperial Bank, Europe’s largest retail bank.

A Material Harvest by Paul Cranwell