Ten top executives at Royal Bank of Scotland have been handed almost £5.5m in shares this year as allowances to sidestep the EU bonus cap.
The latest disclosure to the stock market by the 80% taxpayer-owned bank shows that the 10 received £1.9m in these allowances for the last four months of 2014. These awards followed £3.5m handed out in August, to cover the first eight months of the year.
Only one of the 10 sits on the board: the finance […]
RBS gives 10 executives £5.5m in allowances to sidestep EU bonus cap
RBS Group Executives’ testimony questioned
Bonuses handed out to senior bosses at Royal Bank of Scotland are facing renewed scrutiny after the chairman of the bailed-out bank apologised for inaccuracies in evidence given to MPs about its restructuring division.
Sir Philip Hampton admitted evidence given by two of the most senior bankers to the Treasury select committee was incorrect. The division is facing accusations about its treatment of small businesses.
The inaccurate evidence was given in June by Derek Sach, who ran the global restructuring group […]
This years biggest Banking Bonuses
Foreign exchange traders are traditionally among those receiving the biggest bonuses, but an industry-wide rigging scandal and slumps in market activity will mean this year being especially lean.
According to data from Emolument, the salary benchmarking site, bonuses at banks’ foreign exchange divisions are expected fall by 43pc this year.
A number of large banks are under investigation for foreign exchange rigging, in a scandal that it is believed could potentially outstrip Libor in terms of fines.
Additionally, historically dismal levels of […]
Bankers’ bonuses – 100 times higher than public sector
Bankers’ bonuses were more than a hundred times higher than public sector workers over the past year and grew at double the rate of those of the average UK worker, official figures have showed.
The average bonus for bankers and insurance workers was £13,300 between May last year to April, while that of public sector workers such as nurses and teachers was the lowest at around £100 on average. The figures are likely to prompt further calls for stricter rules […]
RBS to give £3.5m in shares to top executives
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has revealed plans to give 10 top executives £3.5 million worth of shares, in a move to avoid strict EU rules on bonuses within the banking industry.
RBS, which remains 81% owned by the taxpayer after being bailed out during the financial crisis, reported losses of £8.2 billion for 2013. The bank linked the losses to restructuring costs and misconduct fines. The government blocked plans for RBS to pay bonuses twice the size of […]
RBS chiefs accused of being ‘wilfully obtuse’ over evidence to MPs
Allegations about the way Royal Bank of Scotland treats its small businesses have resurfaced after senior executives from the bailed-out bank were accused of being “wilfully obtuse” when giving evidence to MPs.
Andrew Tyrie, the chair of the Treasury select committee, issued a damning verdict on the evidence provided last month by two of the most senior directors of the 81% taxpayer-owned bank, which has been scrambling to defend its stance towards small business customers.
Chris Sullivan, deputy chief executive of […]
RBS Accused Of Covering Up For ‘Corporate Psychopaths’
Protesters outside the RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) annual general meeting in Gogarburn, Scotland, as The World Development Movement call on the bank to stop investing in coal mining. | Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Royal Bank of Scotland executives have been reportedly accused by shareholders of “covering up” for “corporate psychopaths” in their controversial business support unit.
The furious attack came at the state-owned bank’s annual general meeting (AGM) today, following a report by entrepreneur Lawrence Tomlinson, who accused the bank of […]
Royal Bank of Scotland chief receives shares worth almost £1.5m
Ross McEwan, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, received shares worth almost £1.5m in the bailed-out bank.
The New Zealander was handed the shares as part of a signing-on deal when he was first hired from Commonwealth Bank of Australia to run the retail operations of the 81% taxpayer-owned institution in September 2012. He was promoted to chief executive last October after Stephen Hester quit and sold just under half of the 432,000 shares which were released to him […]
Royal Bank of Scotland chief receives shares worth almost £1.5m
Ross McEwan handed shares as part of signing-on deal, as three of his executives take shares under bonus schemes.
The New Zealander was handed the shares as part of a signing-on deal when he was first hired from Commonwealth Bank of Australia to run the retail operations of the 81% taxpayer-owned institution in September 2012. He was promoted to chief executive last October after Stephen Hester quit and sold just under half of the 432,000 shares which were released to […]
New RBS finance chief £1.9m ‘golden hello’ reigniting controversy over bonuses
Royal Bank of Scotland has courted further controversy over ‘fat cat’ pay after handing a £1.9million ‘golden hello’ to its new finance chief.
Ewen Stevenson was awarded 584,506 shares on his first day in the job on Monday to compensate him for payments he forfeited at his previous employer Credit Suisse. RBS shares are currently worth 326p each, up 2.3p on the day. Stevenson will enjoy an annual package of £1.9million a year, including a £800,000 salary, £280,000 in pension […]
Can banking clean up its act? A speech by Lionel Barber
A speech by Lionel Barber, Financial Times editor, at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, May 1, 2014. An accompanying video can be viewed here.
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, I am delighted to be here tonight at Hughes Hall in the University of Cambridge. This is the prestigious City lecture, but sadly I will not be providing slides. As Lord Acton might have said, power tends to corrupt, PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.
Tonight I want to talk about bankers and banking. These days, bankers are […]
RBS complain about ban on massive bonuses to fat cat staff
Ross McEwan’s gripe follows the bank showing higher profits – at the cost of 6300 jobs. The bleating boss of bailed-out bank RBS has complained he’s not allowed to pay big enough bonuses.
Chief executive Ross McEwan sparked fury by warning that key staff might walk out over the Government’s refusal to back his plan for whopping bonuses for 2014.
He was speaking as 81 per cent taxpayer-owned RBS revealed pre-tax profits of £1.6billion for the three months to the end […]
Barclays Shareholders Warn Bank It Is ‘Telling Customers To Go To Hell’
Barclays is “telling customers to go to hell” rather than becoming the “go to” bank, shareholders warned bank bosses during an angry annual general meeting in London today.
Barclays bosses faced shareholder anger as a succession of speakers were applauded when they criticised the bank’s remuneration policy. One mockingly asked if the bank’s overdraft fees were a sign that Barclays should “get ready to merge” with payday loan giant Wonga. Barclays recently defied calls for restraint over its executive pay and bonuses […]
Vince Cable – Bankers’ Pay Still Extraordinarily Large
Vince Cable has issued a stark warning to Britain’s leading boardrooms that they need to crack down on bonuses to restore public trust and avert the threat of fresh legislation to limit executive pay.
The business secretary fired off a warning to the 100 biggest UK-listed companies about the damage big pay deals can have on their image, before Barclays’ annual meeting on Thursday, where protests about the bank’s £2.4bn bonus pot are expected to be registered by disgruntled shareholders.
Cable told […]
Lloyds Top Management Bonuses potentially worth more than £27m
Lloyds chief executive António Horta-Osório: the bank has handed its top management team bonuses potentially worth more than £27m. Photograph: Afp/AFP/Getty Images
Bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group has handed its top management team – including chief executive António Horta-Osório – bonuses potentially worth more than £27m.
The announcement by the 33% taxpayer-owned bank covers awards of bonuses for 2013 and 2014 – some of which do not pay out for three years – and follows its disclosures this month that its senior executives shared £12m of bonuses that had […]
Banking standards body must be run by non-bankers, says review chief
The former director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said that the authority on banking standards should not consist of bankers.
As part of his Banking Standards Review, Sir Richard Lambert said the group should not act as a platform for bankers to lobby government and help shape policy.
Instead, he is recommending that members be recruited from outside the banking industry in order to secure its credibility and independence.
The review was launched at the request of the […]
Mark Carney signals move on bank bonus claw-back rules
BoE Governor says regulators will begin consulting within weeks on tougher claw-back rules for bankers’ bonuses
Regulators will begin consulting this month on plans to introduce new rules that would force banks to claw back pay from staff in the event of future problems even if the bonus had already been awarded to them, according to Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England.
In a letter to MPs, Mr Carney said the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the supervisor of […]
Bankers’ bonus cap architect says EU must sue UK government
MEP calls on European commission to take UK to court for allowing banks to ‘blatantly’ sidestep EU rules limiting bonuses
One of the architects of the EU’s cap on bankers’ bonuses has called for the UK government to be sued for allowing banks to sidestep the new rules as two more high street banks were preparing to hand their bosses up to £1m in extra pay to avoid the clampdown.
Philippe Lamberts, the Belgian Green MEP who helped devise the restrictions, […]
Ross McEwan RBS boss: ‘We are least trusted business’
RBS’s new boss, Ross McEwan, told the BBC the results were “very sobering” We need to pay bonuses despite making a loss.
‘Smaller, simpler’ Mr McEwan announced that RBS, once one of the world’s largest banking groups, would continue to shrink, by reducing its international and investment operations. The group, which includes NatWest and Ulster Bank, will concentrate instead on the retail market in the UK, and on getting the “basics of everyday banking right”.
Its seven operating divisions will be transformed […]
Bosses of Britain’s biggest banks are on course to be awarded millions
The bosses of Britain’s biggest banks are on course to be awarded millions of pounds in share payments to circumvent a Brussels-imposed bonus cap – a move that risks inflaming the toxic row over City pay deals.
The new payments would be in addition to bank leaders’ basic pay because the EU is limiting bonuses to 100% of salaries – or 200% if shareholders approve larger payments.
The big-four high street banks are consulting shareholders about bonuses for chief executives that […]
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