ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND, CASH BONUSES AND PUBLIC FINANCES

That this House is shocked and disturbed at the complete insensitivity of the senior management, including the chairman of the RBS remuneration committee, to press ahead with plans, set out in a letter to RBS shareholders on 1 February 2010, that would allow top performers to effectively collect large cash bonuses despite the publicly stated opposition to such payouts by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Financial Services Authority; believes that as 84 per cent. of RBS is owned by the taxpayer, the interests of the public should be represented by United Kingdom Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) who are responsible for protecting the taxpayer's investments into RBS, to the RBS board; further believes the RBS proposed plan, that bonuses could initially be paid in shares which would be convertible to cash after just 12 weeks, is totally contrary to the Chancellor's stated desire to curb unjustified bonuses being paid by banks in which there is significant public ownership; and therefore calls on the Government to instruct UKFI to demand that the RBS chief executive, Stephen Hester, halt such unacceptable bonus plans, on penalty of dismissal if he fails to comply.