The RBS AGM: Oily Cameron And Pigs In Muck
WE looked on as protester Kit Fraser got his kit off outside the Royal Bank of Scotland AGM in Edinburgh.
The bank’s boss, Stephen Hester, has been awarded £7.7 million pay package (a potential bonus of £4.5m shares; £2m annual bonus; £1.2m annual salary). RBS is 83% owned by the taxpayer.
Also, 323 RBS staff earned £375 million last year.
In 2010, the bank still posted loses of £1.1 billion.
Says Hester:
“Bonuses are a cost of doing business. I don’t know a way you can run any business while paying people much less than competitors”
Harry Wilson notes:
The arguments in favour of bonuses are convincing, but it is right that the arguments should continue to be made directly to those whose money once provided the capital that allowed the bank to operate.
And the PR gets worse for RBS. There are protests against the bank’s investment in extracting oil from Canada’s tar sands:
Clayton Thomas-Muller, from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and who is attending the AGM, said: “Banks have been put on notice for their dirty finance of the Canadian tar sands which is resulting in the destruction of First Nations Peoples’ way of life.”
RBS is the bank owned by the taxpayer, which pays money on pain of law into David Cameron’s Government. He was the Politian who said way, way back in May 2010:
“We’ve got a real opportunity to drive the green economy to have green jobs, green jobs and make sure we have our share of the industries of the future.”
What says RBS:
Royal Bank of Scotland is well on its way to becoming an “opportunity” for its shareholders, including the UK government, rather than a “problem”, the bailed-out bank’s chairman Philip Hampton was due to say at the annual meeting today.
How well is it doing?
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC or RBS (RBS.L: News ,RBS: News ) Tuesday said that, at Group level, the company posted GBP 1.9 billion of operating profit in 2010 compared with a loss of GBP 6.1 billion in 2009. RBS will hold its Annual General Meeting or AGM at 2.00 pm today.
After taking account of restructuring costs and the post-tax effect of participating in the Asset Protection Scheme, RBS reported a net attributable loss of GBP 1.1 billion, much lower than losses in recent years.
The Core bank made an operating profit of GBP 7.4 billion last year. That’s below the figure for 2009 but that year’s profit reflected exceptionally strong performance from the investment bank. The Retail and Commercial businesses contributed half of Core profits, up from a quarter in 2009.
So. The bank carries on because the debt is so huge. But you – the shareholder – have no say it how it is operated and get to see the rich stay rich…
Posted: 19th, April 2011 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
