RBS boss Stephen Hester rejects £1m bonus

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16783571

Some interesting points:





What do you guys make of this then?

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Can't believe that he was allowed to get it in the first place. I realise some people will always earn more than others in a capitalist society like ours, but surely this is just perverse. He could forego a small amount of his already massive salary (and another share scheme that he's entitled to payments from) and give some of the 11,000 people he's made redundant a break...

As far as I can make out he's just done his job like the rest of us do ours... nothing that exceptional (and certainly not beyond £1m basic salary exceptional)... no bonuses for that in my book.

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This is still raging in the media isn't it. I bet the bosses of other banks are getting nervous about their bonuses being announced, the Barclays CEO's bonus is likely to make Hester's look like pocket change isn't it?

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Only doing his job though... it's not like he's mugged anyone for the money. If he was to accept it I'm sure it would have been perfectly within his contract to do so.

I always thought that with Fred the Shred - everyone was piling all this pressure on him to forgo his pay-off and pension but why should he have? If you want to linch anyone, shouldn't it have been the people who composed and approved his working terms which entitled him to a bonus even if the bank went belly up?

There are plenty of people out there with execs in their cross-hairs applying pressure on them to give up bonuses... how many of these people applying this pressure would honestly give up a bonus that they were entitled to?

I know we're specifically talking about a bank in the public interest here - but no-one's actually doing anything illegal if they were to accept a bonus. In fact they're perfectly entitled...


PS: I'm not a banker or an exec! :bangin:

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It's just that it's RBS though isn't it, a bank that's been propped up by money that all of us average Joes have paid in through our taxes, it doesn't really sit well that he can take £1,000,000 of that cash just for doing an ok job. They've cut the workforce in half and the share price has dropped so I'm not sure why he should be entitled to it anyway, just because a contract says you can, doesn't mean you should - I can technically wear a skirt to work thanks to my liberal employment contract, but I choose not to for the good of everyone else.

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NEWS JUST IN:

Just hears that Fred The Shred will be stripped of his knighthood.

Now, just "Mr Goodwin".

He'll have to get all his letterheads and business cards changed.

His pension will probably just about cover it. :nod:

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It's a strange one that isn't it. He balls'd up in a big way but ultimately there are people with titles who have criminal records, Goodwin got caught up in the greed and good times and made decisions that he probably wouldn't have in hindsight, not sure it's something you can take a title away for.

I think the government come off worse in this case, seems petty to me. Having a knighthood and knowing that the entire country thinks you shouldn't is worse than having one taken away I'd guess.

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I thought you only lost your title if found guilty of criminal activity.
How come Lord Archer gets to keep his?
Double standards here, somewhere!

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