RBS boss paid bonus despite fine

The boss of the taxpayer-funded Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will be paid a bonus of almost £800,000 just weeks after his bank was fined £391 million for rate-rigging.

Stephen Hester, chief executive of RBS, will be given around £780,000 in shares next month as part of a reward scheme for his performance in 2010.

The huge payout will undoubtedly anger critics of such schemes across the City, especially given its timing so soon after the Libor scandal rocked RBS.

Mr Hester will be handed the shares next month, and will be able to cash them 12 months later. The exact value will depend on the share price when he cashes them in.

Mr Hester said last week he would stay to "finish the job" at the bank despite damning evidence from US and UK authorities over its role in the Libor scandal, dating back to 2006 and continuing through to late 2010 - when investigations had already begun.

RBS, which is 81% owned by the Government, will recoup around £300 million from its staff bonus pool and clawing back previous awards to pay for the fines.

RBS said 21 staff were involved in attempting to manipulate interbank lending rates - specifically Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc Libor submissions - from 2006 to as recently as November 2010.

Mr Hester's payout next month is the second tranche of two-part reward scheme that was announced in 2011.