RBS chief Stephen Hester waives controversial bonus of nearly £1m
Banker bows to pressure from across the political spectrum to decline 3.6m shares offered to him by bank's board
Stephen Hester, chief executive of RBS, has decided to decline his bonus of shares worth almost £1m. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod
Stephen Hester, chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has bowed to intense political pressure and waived a bonus of nearly £1m.
After a weekend of intense scrutiny of the bonus, culminating in a move by Labour to force a Commons vote on the payment, Hester concluded that he would not accept the 3.6m shares that the bank's board had decided to award him.
Parachuted in to run to the bank after it was bailed out in October 2008, Hester is understood to have felt his pay was too much of a distraction .
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott said that Hester had "bowed to the inevitable" but kept up the pressure on prime minister David Cameron, who, he said, "had shown very poor judgement".
A political row had erupted over whether the government could have done more to stop any bonus being paid to Hester. Treasury minister Danny Alexander claimed on Sunday that the only way to halt bonuses was to take direct control of the bank, 82% of which is owned by taxpayers, which would heap further losses on the public.
Pressure had also come from the work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who had said the decision not to take any bonus lay with Hester. Asked whether Hester should take his bonus, Duncan Smith said: "It's for him individually, obviously, to make a decision about that. As a member of the government I don't have a collective opinion on that, but I must say to you nobody would be happier than the government if he took such decisions, but it's up to him."
These remarks and the decision by Labour to force a vote are believed to have been signficant. Labour sources had intended to hold a vote on 7 February in an opposition day debate, drawing comparisons with the vote that accelerated the pace on News Corporation's proposed – and subsequently withdrawn – takeover of BSkyB in the summer.
Over the weekend David Cameron had also put the onus on Hester.
Speaking at Chequers, the prime minister told journalists: "It's obviously his decision. My decision is to make sure the team at RBS get on with the job of turning the bank round. We made our views very clear on the bonus and that's why it was cut in half compared to last year."COPY http://www.guardian.co.uk/
After a weekend of intense scrutiny of the bonus, culminating in a move by Labour to force a Commons vote on the payment, Hester concluded that he would not accept the 3.6m shares that the bank's board had decided to award him.
Parachuted in to run to the bank after it was bailed out in October 2008, Hester is understood to have felt his pay was too much of a distraction .
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott said that Hester had "bowed to the inevitable" but kept up the pressure on prime minister David Cameron, who, he said, "had shown very poor judgement".
A political row had erupted over whether the government could have done more to stop any bonus being paid to Hester. Treasury minister Danny Alexander claimed on Sunday that the only way to halt bonuses was to take direct control of the bank, 82% of which is owned by taxpayers, which would heap further losses on the public.
Pressure had also come from the work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who had said the decision not to take any bonus lay with Hester. Asked whether Hester should take his bonus, Duncan Smith said: "It's for him individually, obviously, to make a decision about that. As a member of the government I don't have a collective opinion on that, but I must say to you nobody would be happier than the government if he took such decisions, but it's up to him."
These remarks and the decision by Labour to force a vote are believed to have been signficant. Labour sources had intended to hold a vote on 7 February in an opposition day debate, drawing comparisons with the vote that accelerated the pace on News Corporation's proposed – and subsequently withdrawn – takeover of BSkyB in the summer.
Over the weekend David Cameron had also put the onus on Hester.
Speaking at Chequers, the prime minister told journalists: "It's obviously his decision. My decision is to make sure the team at RBS get on with the job of turning the bank round. We made our views very clear on the bonus and that's why it was cut in half compared to last year."COPY http://www.guardian.co.uk/
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