does this make anyone else physically sick - it should.

[theticklemister]

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss Stephen Hester is to receive a bonus of almost £1m.
RBS announced on Thursday that Mr Hester is to get £963,000 in shares based on the bank's closing share price on Wednesday 25 January 2012.
The bank said the bonus was for "substantial progress in making RBS safer, rebuilding performance in many businesses and improving customer service and support".
RBS is 82% owned by the taxpayer.
BBC business editor Robert Peston has learnt that the bonus came due to fears about resignations on the RBS board.
"I am reliably told that they feared Mr Hester and much of the board would have quit, if the payment had been vetoed by the government as the majority shareholder," said our business editor.
"Hester's pay reflects the significant contribution he has made towards rebuilding RBS in 2011," UK Financial Investments (UKFI) told BBC business editor Robert Peston.
UKFI was set up in 2008 to manage taxpayers' shareholdings in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds after they had to be rescued.
Out of touch
The decision has prompted outrage amongst union leaders.
"Reports that the Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive is to take £1m from taxpayers' pockets as a bonus are utterly disgusting and offensive to every working person across the country," said David Fleming, Unite national officer.
Chris Leslie, the Labour Party shadow financial secretary to the Treasury gave a statement in reaction to the news.
"We now know that ministerial claims that the RBS board is contractually bound for years over bonuses were false. The board decides bonuses on an annual basis - and the biggest shareholder at the bank is the Government," said Mr Leslie.
"Anyone who thinks it is acceptable to award a bonus of almost £1m on top of a basic salary of £1.2m in these tough times is desperately out of touch with millions of people who are struggling to make ends meet."
'Progressing well'
The decision was made on Wednesday by the RBS remuneration committee whose chair is Sir Philip Hampton.
Sir Philip said on Thursday: "The Board is aware of the difficulties in trying to reconcile the competing objectives of all our stakeholders. This is especially true on the issue of pay."
Sir Philip pointed out that Mr Hester was not employed as chief executive during the period of its collapse and subsequent bailout.
"His pay is strongly geared to the recovery of RBS, which he was recruited to turn around, having played no part in its collapse," said Sir Philip.
"A safer and more valuable RBS is in the interests of our customers, shareholders and the UK economy and we are progressing well towards this goal under the leadership of Stephen Hester."
Contractual constraints
The bonus has been decided as politicians have wrestled over how to deal with the issue of compensation at banks amid the economic gloom.
Our business editor said: "The governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, caught the mood [on Tuesday] when he pointed to the perceived unfairness that it was the well-heeled bankers who caused the mess we're in, but it's those on average and below-average incomes who are paying the price."
For the past two years, part-nationalised RBS and Lloyds Banking Group have paid no cash bonuses of more than £2,000.
The firm has announced thousands of job cuts, although it recorded a £2bn profit in its most recent trading period compared with a £1.6bn loss in the same period in 2010.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said ministers are "constrained" by contractual arrangements agreed by the last government at the time of Mr Hester's appointment regarding his bonus.
Labour Party leader Ed Miliband has retorted that, "if responsibility means anything", Mr Hester should not get a payout.

[orangeman]

Why £963k ?? Why not just make it a cool £1m ?.

[under the bar]

Doesn't make me sick at all.  At least he is working for his money unlike the vast majority of civil servants here. 

[tyrone exile]

Doesn't bother me in the slightest either, as if i had a chance of seeing any of that. Suppose when you get that high up in your career that's what you can expect.

[trileacman]

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss Stephen Hester is to receive a bonus of almost £1m.

The firm has announced thousands of job cuts, although it recorded a £2bn profit in its most recent trading period compared with a £1.6bn loss in the same period in 2010.

Says it all really. Though according to some we should all be paying as much tax as we can rather than avoid it by using a pint or two of red diesel.

[attheraces]

Fat cat, greedy bankers are the reason we got into this mess. And it does make me sick some of the payments they receive,  often quite obviously over the top and the profits some banks make themselves is sickening. However in this case it's actually more in line with what the bonuses should be, and there is no doubt Stephen Hester has had possibly the toughest job in banking over the past 12 months. However the criticism is going to stem fron the fact RBS is owned by the country, and while public sector workers are more increasingly protesting about pay freezes, there is a bonus being paid which effectively doubles his salary, while the average joe suffers.

[theticklemister]

Doesn't bother me in the slightest either, as if i had a chance of seeing any of that. Suppose when you get that high up in your career that's what you can expect.

Doesn't make me sick at all.  At least he is working for his money unlike the vast majority of civil servants here. 

Youse two would make great Conservative MPs!

I don't know how anybody can justify such high wages or bonus' when people are barley living on whatever money they can muster up. Add on the fact that the majority of the bank is owned by the tax payers of Britain and it should double your amazment. It was these fecking clowns who got us into this mess and Tyrone Exile and Under the Bar see no contradiction in giving them all this money. I think it is probably people like ye who would blame the crippling system both here and in Britain and in the rest of the world in that matter on the people doing the 'double' just to survive.

Larkin and Connolly would be spinning in their graves.

[nifan]

doing the 'double' just to survive.

Do people really need to do the double "just to survive"?

[theticklemister]

In lo of cases yes

[Hereiam]

What the general public fail to see about these bonuses is that they are all taxable, the British treasury has lost out on billions because Cam boy needs the voters on his side and cut these bonuses. He now have to find the money from somewhere else so the lower paid has to suffer because of this.

[thewobbler]

There's two sides to this story.

I've no idea if Hester is a capable man or not, but I presume he was appointed on ability. If the going rate for banking CEOs includes a 7 figure  bonus, then I'd rather someone was running a public company properly, and getting remunerated accordingly, than the inverse.

[EC Unique]

There's two sides to this story.

I've no idea if Hester is a capable man or not, but I presume he was appointed on ability. If the going rate for banking CEOs includes a 7 figure  bonus, then I'd rather someone was running a public company properly, and getting remunerated accordingly, than the inverse.

although it recorded a £2bn profit in its most recent trading period compared with a £1.6bn loss in the same period in 2010.

He was brought in to sort out a mess, above states the results. Give him his deserved bonus.

[BennyHarp]

There's two sides to this story.

I've no idea if Hester is a capable man or not, but I presume he was appointed on ability. If the going rate for banking CEOs includes a 7 figure  bonus, then I'd rather someone was running a public company properly, and getting remunerated accordingly, than the inverse.

although it recorded a £2bn profit in its most recent trading period compared with a £1.6bn loss in the same period in 2010.

He was brought in to sort out a mess, above states the results. Give him his deserved bonus.

100% agree - if they were making losses then thats a different story. The man was brought in to hit targets and would get bonuses based on that. Its good for the tax payer if RBS are successful so fair play to him.

[Denn Forever]

You are not going to like this.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9043010/RBS-chief-Stephen-Hester-in-line-for-7m-payout-despite-bonus-cut.html

However, the bank admitted Mr Hester was still potentially eligible for an award under a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) worth as much as £4.8m.

This means his total pay package for last year including his £1.2m salary and £420,000 pension could reach £7.38m.

If Mr Hester were to receive his maximum LTIP grant it would take the total value of the awards made to him since he took over as chief executive in October 2008 to about £27.5m.

[brokencrossbar1]

doing the 'double' just to survive.

Do people really need to do the double "just to survive"?

Yes, a lot of self employed people who previously were working in the construction trade are now doing it quite a lot.  They are still working similar hours to what they were 2-3 years ago but are not getting paid the same amount or even at all.  It is a depressing situation for many.

As for the Banker, he is a trouble shooter and has done his job, he deserves what he earns.