RBS Job Losses 2700 Confirmed

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RBS to shed 2700 UK Jobs

Gordon Pell, a senior executive with the Royal Bank of Scotland has said he expects the group to lose about 2,700 jobs in the UK following the government bailout.

Gordon Pell told the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster that about 260  job losses would be in Scotland.

Mr Pell also said the row over former chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin's pension had become a "distraction".

He said history would be kinder to Sir Fred and that his reputation would be partially restored.

Mr Pell, deputy chief executive at RBS, said the recession was the worst he had experienced and he was "deeply ashamed" of what had happened.

He said his organisation understood its "privileged position" with the taxpayers as a result of the multi-billion pound government bailout.

Mr Pell said that as a member of the board of RBS during the takeover of ABM Ambro, he took ''collective responsibility'' for the bank's financial problems.

He said he was not involved in any of the meetings to decide the terms or level of Sir Fred's pension.

On Wednesday, Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy accused Sir Fred of ''banking vandalism".

Mr Murphy told MPs the revelation he had received a £3m lump sum payout from his £16m pension fund was "extraordinarily distasteful".

The Scottish Affairs Committee will also question Archie Kane, from Lloyds Banking Group.

Tags: RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS Job Losses, Scotland, UK