The management of the Royal Bank of Scotland, bailed out by the taxpayer to the tune of £20BN, isn't going to allow anything as inconvenient as gross incompetence (it is expected to announce a loss of £7BN-£8BN for 2008) to get in the way of its bonus payments.
The Times reports that RBS is planning to pay large bonuses to thousands of its City traders and senior bankers. Some of the payments are expected to reach tens of millions of pounds, with some bankers in line for six-figure payouts.
It seems that the culture of arrogance is alive and well at RBS, despite the fact that the management should hang their heads in shame for destroying one of Britain's leading banks.
Lord Mandelson, Business Secretary, put it rather more diplomatically then myself (however, it is clear that he is not best pleased):
"What I would say is please be mindful about how this looks and what public opinion will be.
Obviously you have to work in a market where you have got to recruit the best people, keep the best people in place and motivate them.
But they have also got to consider how it looks and how it seems when those mistakes and losses have been made."
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