New RBS chairman wields axe on seven directors

Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) new chairman, Sir Philip Hampton, is to shake-up the bank’s boardroom with the loss of seven non-executive directors.

Sir Philip, former Sainsbury’s chief, took over this week after Sir Tom McKillop announced he was to step down two months early.

The bank, which is almost 70% owned by the taxpayer, will part ways with long-standing non-executive directors Peter Sutherland and Bob Scott. It is also expected that Sir Steve Robson will depart, as well as Jim Curre, Janis Kong, Charles Koch and Bill Friedrich.

Three new non-executives will join the board, who have been approved by the Government, and these are due to be announced later today.

The news comes just 24 hours after Business Secretary Lord Mandelson warned the bank about its intention of offering “exorbitant” bonuses to staff.

Furthermore, RBS has been in the news frequently of late since it is due to set a record in UK corporate history with a loss of £28 billion expected later this month.

In addition, it was revealed yesterday by Insurance Insider that RBS has abandoned talks with private equity bidders about the sale of its insurance arm, which includes the Churchill, Direct Line and Privilege brands.

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