RBS boss Hester rejects £1m bonus
Royal Bank o f Scot l a nd c h i e f e x e c u t ive S t e p h e n Hester has tur ned down his controversial bonus, worth nearly £1m.
BBC business editor Robert Pes t o n s a i d Hest e r would renounce the £963,000 sharesonly payment after succumbing to “enor mous political pressure”.
Chancellor George Osborne said it was a “sensible and welcome” decision that now let Hester focus on getting back billions of pounds for the taxpayer.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said the RBS boss had “done the right thing”.
E a rl i e r, L a b o u r s a i d i t would force a vote on the issue after Prime Minister David Cameron refused to block the bonus from the mostly publicly-owned bank.
Ro b e r t Pe s t o n s a i d t h e board felt Hester had ear ned the bonus for the way he had made RBS a less risky organisation.
B u t wh e n i t l o o ke d a s though MPS were going to vote against it, the general consensus amongst the directors was that the “game was up”, he added.
Earlier this month, RBS announced it would cut 3,500 jobs from its global banking division.
The cuts will mean RBS has removed 11,000 employees from its staff, almost halving
Earlier, Labour said it would force a vote on the issue after Prime Minister David Cameron refused to block the bonus from the mostly publicly-owned bank
its 2007, pre-credit cr unch headcount of 24,000.
Shares in the bank have fallen 36% in the last year, falling 2% on Monday's open.
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Hester was already being adequately rewarded for his performance.
(BBC)