Criticism got personal, says Hester

Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester has broken his silence after waiving a bonus of nearly £1 million, saying recent media coverage about the bank had been personalised and discomfiting.

In a letter to the bank’s staff Mr Hester said many employees had felt an impact from the criticism, even though it was mainly directed towards himself and his predecessor, Fred Goodwin, who was stripped of his knighthood last week.

He said the bank was “making progress in the face of a difficult inheritance” and was ahead of its schedule to clean itself up following its £45 billion bail-out. Although it was still making a loss, it was now a much safer company, he added.

He added that “RBS is full of good people, doing their best across a multiple set of challenges” and they could successfully overcome great obstacles.

But with the bank expected to take further criticism ahead of the bonus season, he said staff needed to bear in mind the bigger picture, as the public suffers the effects of economic gloom.

He said: “Many people within RBS and in the wider economies we serve are facing uncertainties around jobs, earnings, housing values and many other things..”

Mr Hester gave up his shares bonus of £963,000 last week amid huge political pressure.