RBS bosses under fire over bank bonuses

UNDER-fire bosses at Royal Bank of Scotland faced the wrath of shareholders yesterday over £607m worth of bonuses awarded to executives in a year when the bank lost £5.bn – as it warned more jobs could be under threat.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th May 2013, 09:53 BST

The taxpayer-backed bank was accused of “unsustainable” behaviour as investors grilled the company at its annual general meeting in Edinburgh.

But it fended off calls for a pay freeze with more than 99 per cent of shareholder votes backing the remuneration report.

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RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton admitted that it had, like other banks, been through a “chastening” year in 2012 “fixing the mistakes of the past but also laying the foundations for a secure, profitable future”.

“Along with the rest of the banking industry, we faced significant challenges as we worked with regulators to put right past mistakes, particularly the Libor and mis-selling problems,” he said.

He added that changes would be needed to make sure there were “branches where our customers are, not always where we have had them for decades” and “that could mean further impacts on employees”. The bank, which is 81 per cent owned by the taxpayer, has already shed thousands of jobs since its bail-out at the height of the financial crisis.

A turnaround could see the Treasury beginning to sell its stake in the company. But hopes for the future were edged with continuing ire over rewards for top staff.

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Investor, Kenneth Cramond, said: “This is the unsustainable part of banking in the future. It cannot go on and it should not go on. The taxpayer will not tolerate it and if you have opened your eyes and ears you will know that.

“You said two years ago we’re all in this together. So, if we’re all in this together Mr Hester and Mr Hampton, how about executive pay being frozen?”

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