Now we the taxpoayers are paying, there should b e no discretionary bonuses at RBS. The senior executives with contractual bonuses should be asked to forgo them in view of the collosal losses.
If you own a business you are responsible for appointing the management, for deciding how to remunerate them, and setting them objectives. As the taxpayers representatives the government has a duty to tell the nationalised banks what their aims are, who will run them, and what we will pay them. They cannot deny all power or involvement. That’s a stupid cop out.
It’s none of the government’s business how much Barclays pay their staff or how big their bonuses are. That’s still a matter for Barclays shareholders as they refused taxpayer share capital. Barclays made a profit and can afford to let staff join in the success.
At least there has been recent briefing from RBS that they are at last going to slim the Group down to cut taxpayer risk. Let’s hope the government backs this or even encourages this. Or is this further evidence of banks we own but do not control? Was this a spontaneous policy on the part of the new management, quite unconnected with the interviews and job offers made? What is UKFI doing in all this to earn their bonuses? What guidelines are they setting RBS? I of course as an MP am not allowed to know, as my questions on it are blocked. People should not be so surpised. Many of my questions on all sorts of subjects relating to public money are blocked, and many of the ones that are allowed do not receive anything a normal person could call an answer. It’s just the way this government treats Parliament.
They are looking at cutting back the size of the investment banking activities substantially, as they should. They are looking at disposals of overseas activities. The sooner the better, as we need to get the bank down to a size the government can manage, before completing the return of the viable parts of the business to the private sector.
Meanwhile the Chancellor kicks bank bonuses into the long grass of a year long review. Why is it so difficult to accept the consequences of his mistaken nationalisation of RBS? Why can’t he come out and say as owner he wants to sell it off bit by bit as quickly as possible before it does more serious damage to the public accounts? And in the meantime there will be no bonuses for 2008, because the bank as a whole lost a stunning £28 billion and needed public money to preserve all its jobs. Cross examining past senior people from failed banks is not going to pay the bills. They walked away with their past bonuses intact. I do not ant my constituents having to pay more tax to subsidise highly paid bankers in loss making banks.
February 20, 2009
These Bankers (w omitted) are so in thrall with and pals with Brown, Blair and Labour for letting them get away with billions, The Government want, when out of Office, to join them. Proof? A certain Tony Blair for starters.
February 20, 2009
I can’t make my mind up what’s worse.
The totally irresponsible actions of this government in a failure to deliver a taxpayer punch on bonuses to a bankrupt business which it saved and can only pey bonuses from taxpayers own interests, or the mendacious and alarming actions of ‘blocking’ an MP from raising any questions about it.
I think I’d fall on the latter being more diabolical as it simply amounts to a cover up by government of the former actions which are reckless and irresponsible.
We obviously live in a dictatorship!
When will it end?
When the dictator condescends to permit us to throw this irresponsible dictator out on his ear that’s when!