Shares Bonanza For State-Owned Bank Chief
SKY NEWS: Royal Bank of Scotland boss Stephen Hester has been awarded an extra shares bonus worth up to £4.5m - taking his pay package for 2010 to a potential £7.7m.

The award - made under the bank's long-term incentive plan - is on top of a £2m annual bonus already confirmed by the group and Mr Hester's £1.2m salary.

He also stands to pick up six million shares as part of his 2011 maximum annual bonus.

Based on the current share price, these would be worth around £2.7m.

RBS has also revealed bonus payments for a raft of other executives at the bank, which is 83% owned by the taxpayer.

They include a £1.4m annual handout and potential £2.8m long-term incentive payout for finance boss Bruce Van Saun. >>> Graham Fitzgerald, Sky News Online | Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Big Bonus For Barclays Boss
The boss of Barclays, Bob Diamond, is to get a £6.5m bonus

City Bankers Are Already Lining Up for Bonuses Again
After helping the world get into its financial mess, bankers at HSBC are now lining up for renewed bonuses. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: HSBC bankers are in line for bumper bonus payouts after an 'encouraging' jump in profits.

While the company's performance added impetus to a day of good economic news, the re-emergence of the City's discredited bonus system will be an embarrassment for Gordon Brown, who has promised to outlaw reckless behaviour in the Square Mile.

Taxpayer-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland has already started offering 'guaranteed' bonuses to traders in defiance of promises it made to rein in no-strings-attached rewards.

And Barclays is gearing up for massive payouts after profits rose 15 per cent in the first three months of 2009.

The culture of extravagant bonuses encouraged bankers to take ever bigger risks, laying the ground for the gravest financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. >>> By Simon Duke | Tuesday, May 12, 2009