RBS breaks glass ceiling with first female boss

But Alison Rose walks straight into a row over Thomas Cook

ALISON Rose has become the first woman to run one of Britain’s ‘big four’ banks – walking straight into a furious row over travel firm Thomas Cook.

Having joined Royal Bank of Scotland as a graduate trainee, the 49-year-old has now landed the top job at the state-backed lender.

This will make her one of the most powerful figures in the City and one of only six women to lead a FTSE 100 company. The other five are Carolyn McCall at ITV; Liv Garfield at Severn Trent; Alison Cooper at Imperial Brands; Alison Brittain at Whitbread and Glaxo’s Emma Walmsley.

When Rose, pictured, takes the helm on November 1, the self- confessed workaholic and mother of two will be awarded a package of up to £4.3m.

This includes a basic salary of £1.1m, around £100,000 more than the man she is replacing, Ross McEwan, after his five and a half years in charge.

Classed by RBS as a ‘good leaver’, having steered the bank back to profit, McEwan is in line to receive up to £7.8m from long-term share bonuses.

Rose is currently the chief executive of the bank’s commercial and private banking arm as well as deputy chief executive of Natwest Holdings.

Commissioned by the Treasury last year to lead a review into the barriers facing female entrepreneurs, she described her appointment as an ‘honour’. But as RBS boss she faces a backlash over the future of Thomas Cook, which is fighting to survive.

Having received a £46bn taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis, RBS has already become a lightning rod for criticism. Now it is one of ten lenders threatening to pull the plug on a rescue deal unless Thomas Cook comes up with £200m.

Other lenders involved include Lloyds and Italy’s Unicredit.

But one travel industry source has described RBS as the ‘main protagonist’ turning the screws on Thomas Cook and its biggest shareholder, Chinese conglomerate Fosun. The banks’ demand for £200m was only issued last week, and is on top of the £900m rescue package cobbled together by banks and shareholders over the summer.

Thomas Cook, whose share price plunged another 22.8pc yesterday, may collapse as soon as tomorrow if the extra money is not found. The failure of the 178year-old travel firm would trigger the loss of up to 9,000 jobs in the UK and throw the holiday plans of hundreds of thousands of customers into turmoil.

Last night, an RBS source dismissed claims that it was the driving force behind the £200m ultimatum. The source also said that another firm – not a bank – had agreed to provide a ‘significant’ portion of the £200m, but had pulled its support in recent days. This was dismissed by Thomas Cook.

RBS said: ‘As one of a number of lenders, RBS has provided considerable support to Thomas Cook over many years and continues to work with all parties in order to try and find a resolution to the funding and liquidity shortfall at Thomas Cook.’