British lender NatWest Group Plc has slashed former Chief Executive Officer Alison Rose’s pay as the company looks to move beyond the debanking scandal that forced her out earlier this year.
Rose, who led the bank until July, will forfeit nearly £5 million ($6.11 million) in deferred shares she’d been awarded since she was named CEO in 2019, according to a statement on Friday. The company will also not pay Rose her £2.9 million bonus and other long-term awards for 2023, the statement said.
“No finding of misconduct has been made against Ms. Rose by NatWest Group,” the company said in the statement.
Rose will continue to collect her remaining £1.75 million salary, fixed share allowance and additional pension contributions, the bank said. She is also due to receive about £850,000 in April as variable awards she received for her earlier roles at NatWest vest.
She will also receive a maximum of £395,000 for legal fees and £60,000 for outplacement support as part of the settlement.
“I am pleased that NatWest Group has confirmed that no findings of misconduct have been made against me,” Rose said in an emailed statement. “I can also confirm acceptance of the terms of the settlement agreement, which is in line with NatWest Group’s remuneration policy, bringing the matter to a close.”
Rose resigned over a scandal surrounding the decision by NatWest subsidiary Coutts to close an account held by the ex-politician Nigel Farage. She told a journalist that Farage was dropped because of his financial situation, yet emails obtained by the campaigner showed bank staff discussing his political views.
The incident led to wider questions over the ability of banks to jettison customers without warning or explanation, and an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority into the practice.
Rose was previously one of the highest paid women in UK financial circles and she received around £5.3 million in 2022, according to the lender’s annual report. That included long-term awards from 2020 that vested, paying her £2.2 million, as well as fixed pay of £2.4 million, and a bonus of around £643,000.
Paul Thwaite is acting as interim CEO until a permanent successor is appointed.
(Updates with comment from Alison Rose in sixth paragraph)
