Key Northern Rock staff receive secret bonuses

[beaker]

It's only fair. Right?

[swamp]

Northern Rock are doing very well. Since they borrowed £20bn from the BoE they have transfered all their problems to the state. Why shouldn't the NR execs share a bit of the good fortune?

[Diver]

In a letter to senior staff on December 20, the chief executive, Andy Kuipers, said the “enhanced remuneration package” was for employees deemed “essential to our continuing excellent operational performance”

[AtW]

and there will be no bank

There is already no bank. There never was. People who got these bonuses should have been the first to be fired for getting bank where it is now. The shop should have been closed back in September when Govt had to guarantee depositors - all morgages should have been sold at auction, and UK version of Enron court case should have been established - 20 years in jail me thinking would have been good start for whoever is responsible for such a good "business" management. Also a version of Sarbanes-Oxley for the UK is long overdue - execs who screw up on such a scale should go straight to jail. If they like high salary then they should learn to like high responsibility.

[milanbenes]

I dunno what the fuss is about seems like a sensible move to retain key staff otherwise with the uncertainty surrounding the bank the key staff will all f./e./c./K orf and there will be no bank

Milan.

[threaded]

Don't you just lurv the world of finance.

[NoddY]

Key Northern Rock staff receive secret bonuses

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle3177668.ece

"SENIOR staff at Northern Rock are receiving secret bonuses of up to £100,000 a year as part of an incentive scheme.

The bank’s board approved the bonuses for 173 staff who are seen as essential for the running of the bank. The payouts, of up to £25,000 per quarter, could double the salaries of some of the recipients.

In a letter to senior staff on December 20, the chief executive, Andy Kuipers, said the “enhanced remuneration package” was for employees deemed “essential to our continuing excellent operational performance”.

He emphasised that the arrangement “will not be offered to the generality of staff and, as such, must remain absolutely confidential to yourself and not be discussed with others. If you do discuss the existence of this bonus to any third party then you will forfeit your entitlement”.

The revelation will cause anger among customers, the bank’s remaining 6,000 staff, and taxpayers, whose exposure to Northern Rock is about £55 billion, including £25 billion in loans from the Bank of England. Alistair Darling, the chancellor, will also face embarrassment as the Treasury, Bank of England, and Financial Services Authority (FSA) were informed of the bonus plans.

Last night the Treasury tried to distance itself from the fallout, claiming the government was powerless to intervene. A source said: “ Yes, we were appraised of these bonuses, but it was not for us to say yes or no to it. They have their own independence to run things.”

A spokesman for the FSA said: “We have been informed but remuneration is a matter for the company, not the regulator.”

The payouts triggered anger among opposition politicians. A Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman said: “Northern Rock is being kept afloat entirely by the taxpayer. The company could not even pay its gas bill without taxpayers. The Treasury must not hide behind the fiction that this is a private company.”

Last night Brian Giles, head of corporate affairs at Northern Rock and thought to be one of those who could receive up to £100,000, confirmed the incentive scheme had been put in place but refused to go into detail.

The Treasury took a further step towards the nationalisation of Northern Rock this weekend by recruiting Ron Sandler, the troubleshooter who rescued the Lloyd’s insurance market, to lead the ailing bank if it goes into public ownership.

At an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday shareholders will try to block the sale of Northern Rock to the Treasury. But there are doubts about whether a private owner could keep it afloat and a plan has been drawn up by John Kingman, a Treasury official, for the bank to be owned and managed as a nationalised entity."


It's always reassuring to know my taxes are well spent rewarding the success of a key financial institution. The management of Northern Rock are exemplars for us all.