In his decade with what was then the biggest high street bank, Boardman helped make Natwest the country's most profitable and dynamic. Unhappily though, some of his subordinates cut corners, notably at County Natwest, whose handling of the Blue Arrow takeover of Manpower was savaged by inspectors at the Department of Trade and Industry - to Boardman's fury. Three top executives resigned, and Boardman stepped down three months early in 1989. Although not personally implicated in the fraud, and ignorant of any wrongdoing, Boardman chose to resign a few months before his term of office was due to end.