RBS Chief Reportedly to Give Up Bonus
EDINBURGH, Scotland (
) -- Stephen Hester, the CEO of
Royal Bank of Scotland
, is the latest top U.K. bank executive to forgo a 2009 bonus, a report says.
Hester is turning down a bonus of $2.5 million, the
Wall Street Journal
reports, citing a person familiar with the matter. He joins
Barclays
(BCS) - Get Report
CEO John Varley and President Robert Diamond who turned down their 2009 bonuses, even though Barclays took no direct aid from the U.K. government.
Hester's move comes amid continuing public and political outrage over banker compensation. The overall 2009 bonus pool at RBS is set to be 1.3 billion pounds, according to the
Journal
.
The bonus debate at RBS has been ramped up because the bank is 84%-owned by U.K. taxpayers after a cash infusion late last year, the
Journal
notes.
The move at RBS could compel the top executives at the U.K.'s other top banks --
HSBC
(HBC)
and
Lloyds
(LYG) - Get Report
-- to give up their 2009 awards, the
Journal
reports.
Hester's decision to foreo his bonus could be disclosed when RBS issues earnings later this week.
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