Lord Myners backs bumper RBS bonuses

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated: 03:38 EST, 14 January 2010

City Minister Lord Myners has come out in defence of bumper bonuses for staff at the 'casino' division of Royal Bank of Scotland.

In defence: Lord Myners

The former City grandee warned the taxpayer-controlled lender would lose its best staff if it clamped down too hard in the upcoming bonus season.

Likening RBS to a Scottish Premier League club, Lord Myners said RBS would be doomed to 'playing in a lower division' if it paid second-rate wages.

Lord Myners, who was appearing before Scottish MPs, has been a frequent critic of the mammoth salaries commanded by City rainmakers.

Last month he urged bankers to 'come back into the real world' and show restraint when it emerged the RBS board had threatened to resign en-masse if they were stripped of the power to pay bonuses.

This week RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said pay for his investment bankers would be 'the minimum we can get away with'.

Some £1.5bn is said to be earmarked for the bonus pool, which will be shared out over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the 'extraordinary' pay levels in the Square Mile were 'unpalatable', Lord Myners said.