Sir Fred McKillop, Fred Buchan, Fred Currie, Fred Friedrich, Fred Hunter, Fred “Fred” Koch, Freda Kong, Fred MacHale, Sir Fred Robson, Fred Scott and Fred Sutherland. Ask the non-executives of Royal Bank of Scotland any question and you’ll receive the same answer: Fred will know.

It’s conceivable that forceful board members such as Peter Sutherland (no patsy when it came to challenging Lord Browne at BP) have twisted the arm of Sir Fred Goodwin, RBS chief executive, about the need for a rights issue. In that case, Sir Fred’s days at the group must be numbered.