RBS reveals £2bn loss

UK taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland remained at the heart of the row over bankers’ pay today as it unveiled total losses of £2bn (€2.4bn) for 2011 at the same time as paying £785m in bonuses to its staff.

RBS, which is 82% state-owned after receiving a £45.5bn bailout at the height of the financial crisis, said the bonus pool included £390m for its 17,000 investment bankers.

While the total pot is 43% lower than the previous year, it follows a period in which the bank announced thousands of job cuts as it scales back its investment arm Global Banking and Markets.

It also follows a turbulent period for the bank in which chief executive Stephen Hester was forced to waive his £963,000 all-shares bonus amid public outrage over bankers’ pay.

The bank, which employs 146,800 staff, revealed wider total losses of £2bn in 2011, compared with £1.1bn in 2010, which included a near £1bn hit for mis-sold payment protection insurance compensation.