RBS chief’s bonus suffers as share price plummets
RBS chief executive Stephen Hester has lost out on millions of pounds in potential bonuses since taking the job three years ago, as the value of the bank’s stock has fallen.
When Hester took over as chief executive in November 2008, RBS shares were worth 46p each. By the end of Friday their value had fallen by more than half, closing at just 20.5p.
The estimated £10m hit to Hester’s various share schemes shows just how much bank pay packages have changed in the wake of the financial crisis.
Starting in 2009, RBS switched to a shares-only deferred bonus scheme for executives, which Hester agreed to waive last year.
On top of 4.8m shares owned through a medium-term performance plan, Hester also holds 8.6m shares under a long-term incentive plan. Worth more than £4.2m when the plan was approved, his potential stake would now be worth just £1.76m.