Why nurse RBS back to health just to benefit private investors?

IT is obvious from recent statements by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer that they feel that they have paid adequate lip service to the cosmetic exercise of public condemnation of bankers' bonuses and it is back to business as usual ("Bonus culture 'rolls on' as RBS pays out £785m", The Herald, February 24).

For pragmatic reasons it may well be necessary to allow the Royal Bank of Scotland to follow its policy of bonus payments but there is no reason why these payments could not be paid at the end of a five-year cycle rather than annually. This would foster staff loyalty and allow bonuses to be paid conditional on true long-term improvements in the health of the business; it would also defuse some of the understandable public resentment and anger.

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