Hester set for £1.6m bonus if shares rise 4p

Published on Tuesday 23 June 2009 10:16

ROYAL Bank of Scotland boss Stephen Hester will be in line to receive £1.6 million in bonus payments if the bank's share price rises by only 4p, it emerged today.

The Edinburgh-based bank today confirmed the details of the 9.7 million pay package offered to its chief executive to help turn the company around.

It insisted that the package meant that there would be "no reward for failure".

If the share price is 40p at the end of a three-year period, Mr Hester will be eligible to receive 25 per cent of the total potential performance payout, on top of a 1.2m salary, 420,000 pension funding and a 1.6m deferred bonus payment.

If the share price is 55p, he will get 50 per cent of the shares and options. And if it is 70p he will get the maximum payout. RBS shares opened at 36p today.

In its confirmation of the pay deal today, RBS also revealed that it would not pay out in full if the underlying performance of the firm is not as strong as its share price. And the full payout will only be awarded if RBS' performance is in the top five of a selected group of 20 UK and overseas banks.

RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton, said: "RBS has the largest balance sheet in world banking so it is critical that Stephen succeeds."