George Osborne is forcing Royal Bank of Scotland to cut its bankers' pay to ensure that taxpayers are not left to pick up the cost of the upcoming multimillion-pound fine for Libor rigging.
The chancellor said his views had been made clear to the management of the bailed-out bank in an attempt to defuse public anger about the portion of the fine – which could amount to between £400m to £500m in total – that will be paid to the US authorities.
"When it comes to RBS, I am clear that the bill for any US fine related to this investigation should on this occasion be paid for by the bankers, and not the taxpayer," Osborne said.
Speaking in Bournemouth where he unveiled plans to reform the banking system, Osborne appeared to back the RBS chief executive, Stephen Hester, but indicated he expects heads to roll as a result of the fine for rigging Libor – a key interest rate. It was "well known" that RBS was considering management changes, Osborne said.
The fine from the UK's Financial Services Authority is thought to be just under £90m with US regulators levying fines of around four times that amount. In the furore that followed the £290m Libor fine paid by Barclays last year, £59.5m of which was levied by the FSA, the law was changed to ensure that fines went to the government.
"Those who were doing the supervising must also bear their share of the responsibility," Osborne said. "The RBS board and the RBS senior management are well aware of that and decisions are in hand."
He added that Hester is "taking the action to ensure those responsible are held to account".
It is expected that the departure of John Hourican, the head of the investment bank, will be announced once the Libor fine is revealed, possibly later this week, although he is not thought to be personally implicated in the rigging of Libor. The size of the bonus pool for 2012 at RBS has yet to be disclosed. It was £390m for 2011 and is expected to fall by as much as £150m. But the call by the chancellor to ensure bankers pay for the Libor fine does not preclude bonuses being paid for 2012.
Responding to questions about why senior bankers should receive bonuses after a year of scandal, Osborne acknowledged that Hester and Barclays boss Antony Jenkins have waived their bonuses.
He said there could have been "enormous public anger" if fines levied on RBS by US regulators were paid by the taxpayer, not the bankers.
"That is not on," said Osborne, who has told the bank's management that a fine imposed by international regulators should be paid out of bankers' pay. If the fine is paid by shareholders, led by taxpayers who own 83%of the bank, "that could have been a very great source of public anger this spring," said Osborne.
The chancellor confirmed remarks by Treasury sources over the weekend which had suggested he was concerned about how the Libor fine would be paid. In his speech, Osborne insisted that "everyone should exercise restraint and responsibility" over bonuses.
Osborne was accused of "rhetoric" and a "partial climbdown" by Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, after he said he would use legislation to threaten banks with being broken up if they attempted to flout rules requiring them to ringfence their high street and investment banking operations.
Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative MP whose banking standards commission helped create the idea of "electrifying" the ringfence, said the chancellor had taken an "important step in the right direction". The ringfence was a key plank in proposals by Sir John Vickers' independent commission but the banking standards commission had been concerned banks would try to "game" the ringfence. "They will always try to do so unless strong disincentives are put in place," said Tyrie.
Chancellor insists Royal Bank of Scotland, not UK taxpayers, must take up estimated £500m fine for Libor rigging
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