TIMES ONLINE: Sir Fred Goodwin may be forced to give up some of his massive £650,000 pension if he refuses pleas to "do the decent thing" and surrender it voluntarily.
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, today denied a suggestion from Sir Fred's successor at the Royal Bank of Scotland that the Government had known about the deal to top up the banker's pension pot when he left the ailing bank last year.
He also revealed that he had instructed a Treasury minister, Lord Myners, to contact Sir Fred and ask him voluntarily to give up some of his pension.
“I think people will find it very difficult to understand how you can get paid £650,000 a year for the rest of your life when just look at the state that RBS is in at the moment,” Mr Darling told BBC Radio 4. “You cannot justify these excesses, especially when you’ve got such a failure of this magnitude.” >>> Philip Webster, Political Editor, and Philippe Naughton | Thursday, February 26, 2009
BBC: RBS Reports Record Corporate Loss
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history.
RBS, which had to be bailed out by the government last year, said that its 2008 loss totalled £24.1bn ($34.2bn).
It also said it would put £325bn of toxic assets into a scheme that offers insurance for any further losses.
RBS is under fire over the pension of former boss Sir Fred Goodwin and the chancellor said the government had asked him to forego some of it.
Speaking at a news conference, RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said the bank was "under no illusions" about the scale of the losses.
He added that it was important "to think about the past, to know what went wrong, to disclose it and to address those issues". >>> | Thursday, February 26, 2009
Watch BBC video: Gordon Brown has said 'nobody can support very extensive pension arangements' at this time. >>>
Watch BBC video: Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable has launched a scathing attack on the government's scheme to insure banks against big losses. >>>
Watch BBC video: Chancellor Alistair Darling has spoken about the huge pension awarded to former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss Sir Fred Goodwin.
RBS has come under fire, after it emerged Sir Fred, who retired at 50, is drawing a £650,000 a year pension.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Darling said the government had no part in negotiating the agreement otherwise it would not have been approved. >>>
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