New RBS exec to get 917k golden hello
ROYAL Bank of Scotland’s new head of its branch network will receive a £917,000 “golden hello”, it emerged yesterday, throwing fuel on the debate over executive pay at taxpayer-controlled banks.
Brian Hartzer joined the bank’s management team this week from Australian bank ANZ, and is required only to remain at RBS for two years to receive a reward of 1.99m shares.
The signing-on bonus is part of a larger share-based bonus package which could be worth £2.2m, based on yesterday’s closing price, should Hartzer meet performance targets.
The news comes while fury still rages over RBS chief executive Stephen Hester’s potential £9.6m package, and could be seen as an about-turn on Hester’s recent promises to bring rewards under control.
But the bank said that the award to Hartzer was necessary to compensate bonuses he was forfeiting by leaving ANZ.
Hartzer was one of two new executives names in a regulatory announcement to the London Stock Exchange last night. The second was ex-Santander executive Nathan Bostock, who stands to receive £1.7m in bonus payments.
Last night the bank stood by its determination to entice “world class executives” with competitive remuneration packages.
“The level of their pay is comparable to what they were paid previously or could get elsewhere,” it said.
“There is no reward for failure and incentives are fundamentally driven by business performance. Executives’ interests are aligned with those of all our shareholders.”