The top bankers at Big British financial institutions appear to be more responsive than their American counterparts to public outrage about large bonuses, especially for those banks that received government aid.
Our Newswires colleague Patricia Kowsmann inLondon reports Lloyds Banking Group Chief Executive Eric Daniels waived his 2009 bonus. He was entitled to 2.3 million British pounds despite the company planning to report a net loss for the year and being 41%-owned by the British government.
Stephen Hester, who heads Royal Bank of Scotland, 84% owned by the U.K. government, will turn down a 1.6 million bonus, Kowsmann reported.
Perhaps more surprising was the bonus turn down by Barclays CEO John Varley. That bank has thrived and taken no government assistance.
Might simply be a case – rare as it seems - of true long-term thinking in the executive suite. The Barclays restraint should serve the bank well with an angry public.
Significant bonuses at loss-making institutions are no doubt harder to understand.
