Thank you for your email of 3 September to the Group's Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Hester. I have been asked to reply on the Group's behalf and apologise for the delay in writing to you.
With regard to shareholder returns, I can say that our intention is to resume the payment of dividends as soon as it is prudent to do so, taking account of the Group's capital position, retained earnings and prospects, as well as the enhanced dividend rights attached to the B shares held by the UK Government. I should, however, highlight that the RBS Group Board has not made any announcements regarding the payment of ordinary share dividends. Shareholders will be informed as soon as such a decision is taken although I regret that we cannot place any timescales on such a decision at this stage.
We note your concerns over remuneration within banking and would agree that these views are widely held and that dealing with such concerns will be an essential part of restoring trust in the industry more generally. Our Group Chief Executive, Stephen Hester addressed remuneration recently as part of the Group’s financial results announcement made on 3 August (www.rbs.com/ir).
In that announcement, he commented that for a “long time banks thought it was okay to put their interests before their customers and (that) too many people forgot the enduring truth of our business: to put customers first.” He went on to say that changing and improving our culture is a central part of the plan to build a new RBS. This cultural shift will take time and can occasionally lag behind other changes RBS is undergoing but the two are interlocked with one another.
The Board is, of course, aware of its obligations to the Group’s shareholders and employees. The Board know how high expectations are of our performance. They also know and accept the extra scrutiny that comes with those expectations. As a company we believe we are building a bank that is built to last. I can say that decisions made by the Board are made with the interests of the business and our stakeholders in mind. As ever, our goal remains to be a collection of market-leading businesses which together form an integrated banking group that is among the best in the world.
Kind regards,
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