RBS to seek approval from the government to pay out hefty round of bumper bonuses to its top executives

Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to reveal it is seeking government approval to pay bonuses to favoured employees of twice their salaries, possibly as soon as this week, in a move that will reignite the controversy over banker rewards.

In common with other lenders, state-backed RBS must seek approval from shareholders for bonuses that exceed annual salary under new EU rules.

Separately, the bank has parachuted top corporate troubleshooter Bob Hedger into the Co-op Group, which last week announced losses of £2.5billion.

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Bonus culture: Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to seek government approval to pay bonuses to favoured employees of twice their salaries

RBS is one of a consortium of six banks that have loaned hundreds of millions of pounds to the troubled mutual.

It comes as the lender is under fire over a report it commissioned by lawyers Clifford Chance into its treatment of small firms in financial trouble.

 

The report, which exonerated RBS of fraud, has been dismissed by critics as a whitewash.