Banker who retired on £580k pension lands new job at RBS

A FORMER deputy to Sir Fred Goodwin at the Royal Bank of Scotland – who received a massive pension payout just weeks ago – has returned to a new job in the same group.

Gordon Pell left his post as deputy chief executive at RBS in March with a 580,000 pension agreed before the financial crisis when the government bailed out the firm using taxpayer's money.

The 60-year-old, who earned 932,000 last year, has now been made deputy chairman at Coutts, the private bank owned by RBS whose clients include the royal family.

His salary is estimated to be between 30,000 and 40,000 for the non-executive position, though it is understood he will donate this to an undisclosed charitable trust.

RBS confirmed he would receive no bonus or pension connected with the post.

Lord Oakeshott, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: "This sends all the wrong signals. Mr Pell was one of Sir Fred's right-hand men as they steered the bank on to the rocks. He has walked away with his 13.5 million pension pot without a scintilla of shame. He may be an experienced banker, but it's not been a good experience for taxpayers."

Mr Pell was the last of Sir Fred's associates to leave the bank after its collapse. His pension is higher than Sir Fred's 342,000 pension.

Last year Mr Pell was the subject of shareholder anger when small investors demanded to know why he was still on the board, given his links with Sir Fred's reign. He has been largely unrepentant over RBS's workings, previously hailing Sir Fred's "skills and strengths" as chief executive.

Mr Pell's pension deal was in place before the financial crisis, unlike Sir Fred's which increased while he negotiated his departure from RBS in 2008.

The deal was revealed in RBS's annual report, published on 18 March.

The move to Coutts marks a return for Mr Pell who was chief executive of Coutts Group in 2001 before taking various retail market posts with RBS.

Since 1997, he has been a director of "Race for Opportunity", a campaign focusing on the need to develop the role of Britain's ethnic minority communities in business. He is also a trustee of the University of Southampton Development Fund.

RBS has confirmed that former RBS chief legal counsel and company secretary Miller McLean will become chairman of Adam & Co, the group's Edinburgh-based private bank.

The 60-year-old is believed to be expecting a 30,000-a-year salary for working two days a month.

Mr McLean provided the legal advice to help Sir Fred make the 50 billion break-up bid for ABN Amro, the deal which ultimately forced RBS into ruin and 87 per cent public ownership.

When Mr Pell received his pension last month, First Minister Alex Salmond blasted the move as further evidence the private sector institutions should be subject to "public-sector norms" when taxpayers bail them out.

However, a spokeswoman for RBS said: "Gordon and Miller have served on these boards for several years already.

"They have decades of banking experience and have earned massive respect in the company and the industry for their performance throughout their careers.

"If they hadn't taken on these subsidiary board part-time non-executive roles, we'd be looking long and hard to find two people as well qualified."

Since October 2008, RBS has shed 16,000 of its 165,000 staff globally, including 10,000 jobs in the UK.