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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| RBS directors face public anger | RBS directors face public anger |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland are to be rebuked by shareholders over their pay and pensions at the bank's annual general meeting in Edinburgh. | Directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland are to be rebuked by shareholders over their pay and pensions at the bank's annual general meeting in Edinburgh. |
| A government agency, as majority shareholder, will register the public's anger at the pension awarded to former chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin. | A government agency, as majority shareholder, will register the public's anger at the pension awarded to former chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin. |
| Sir Fred resigned in October after the bank needed a government rescue but was still given a £703,000-a-year pension. | Sir Fred resigned in October after the bank needed a government rescue but was still given a £703,000-a-year pension. |
| However the bank does not have to accept shareholders' demands. | However the bank does not have to accept shareholders' demands. |
| RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton will reiterate to shareholders that legal advice is being taken to see whether the decision on Sir Fred's pension can be reversed. | |
| Current chief executive Stephen Hester has a clause in his contract ensuring he will receive no reward if he leaves the company for reasons of his own failure, Sir Philip will say. | |
| In February RBS reported it made a loss of £24.1bn in 2008 - the largest annual loss in UK corporate history. | In February RBS reported it made a loss of £24.1bn in 2008 - the largest annual loss in UK corporate history. |
| Following a huge input of taxpayer's money to rescue the bank, the government now owns a 68% stake in the lender. | Following a huge input of taxpayer's money to rescue the bank, the government now owns a 68% stake in the lender. |
| 'Firebreak' | 'Firebreak' |
| RBS has become the focus for public anger at the scale and expense of the finance sector's excess after Sir Fred presided over the bank's collapse and his settlement came to light. | RBS has become the focus for public anger at the scale and expense of the finance sector's excess after Sir Fred presided over the bank's collapse and his settlement came to light. |
| It is against this backdrop that the new team at the top will face shareholders later. | It is against this backdrop that the new team at the top will face shareholders later. |
| They already know that the report by their remuneration committee will be rejected by the "arm's length" agency that manages the government's stake, UK Financial Investments (UKFI). | |
| Other shareholders may register their unhappiness at the nearly £5m in equity which has been handed to the new chief executive Stephen Hester. | Other shareholders may register their unhappiness at the nearly £5m in equity which has been handed to the new chief executive Stephen Hester. |
| But none of this will change what has already been agreed. | But none of this will change what has already been agreed. |
| The bank's new bosses hope to create a "firebreak" between a disastrous recent past and their plans to help RBS back into profit. | |
| Michael Lamoureux, who founded the RBS shareholder action group, told the BBC the bank had perpetrated "the biggest crime in financial history in the UK" when it asked shareholders for an extra £12bn to shore up its finances last year. | |
| He said shareholders had been "grossly misled in the prospectus" and were being contacted about taking a class action against RBS. |