Former RBS Chief drawing £650K pension
- 00:02:05
- ITN
Former RBS Chief drawing £650K pension
Royal Bank of Scotland has announced a UK record pre-tax loss of £24.1 billion for 2008. The bank said it was also placing £325 billion in toxic assets into a taxpayer-backed protection scheme. The figures were released as ministers admitted they were "extremely concerned" at reports that the bank's former boss Sir Fred Goodwin was receiving a £650,000-a-year pension. New chief executive Stephen Hester is likely to reveal details of plans to split the business in two and for large-scale sell-offs - as well as cost savings that could lead to the axing of tens of thousands of jobs. Assets and businesses due to be placed in a "bad bank" of non-core businesses include Asian and Australian units acquired with ABN Amro. RBS's aircraft leasing unit and portfolios of mortgage and lending assets by its US business Charter One will also be set aside - while the bank will withdraw from about half of the 60 countries in which it operates. The overhaul will leave RBS with businesses such as NatWest and Direct Line, plus parts of US retail banking subsidiary Citizens and key investment banking operations in places such as Hong Kong. In 2007, RBS made a pre-tax profit of £10.1 billion but taxpayers have pumped £20 billion into the struggling business since last autumn's financial crisis brought RBS to its knees - giving them a 70 per cent stake. According to reports, RBS and Lloyds have been in talks with the Treasury, with Chancellor Alistair Darling expected to announce that the Government will offer guarantees worth £600 billion against toxic "assets" held by the two banks.
ITN | February 26, 2009
