give its bankers bigger bonuses this year, increasing its bonus pool by nearly £300 million, although the firm’s chief executive said this figure was rather reined back compared with the rest of the banking industry. According to the lender, as the group bounced back to a profit of £4 billion in 2021, it had increased its bonus pool by 44 per cent from a year earlier, to £298 million. However, as the bank remained aware of the challenges faced by many people amid the current cost of living crisis, NatWest CEO Alison Rose noted that the lender had shown “significant restraint” with its bonus pool compared with its fellow competitors.
“We operate in a competitive market and we have to pay fairly and competitively for the skills we have,” she said.
Last year, the lender’s bonus pool was 3 per cent lower than the previous year, which reflected the bank’s performance during the first year of COVID, when it was reporting losses, according to Rose. She added that while the bank was aware of the crisis being experiences by its customers amid rising inflation, however it was not yet seeing “signs of strain” among households and businesses. “We’re not seeing a rise in the number of customers needing specialist help at this time,” the NatWest chief executive said. “But what we are very mindful of is the challenges that may be coming, challenges which customers haven’t faced before.”
