Royal Bank of Scotland executives are bracing themselves for questions over pensions and pay at the annual meeting next week.

The group, 62 per cent owned by the taxpayer, will become the latest bank to face scrutiny over concerns about pensions enjoyed by board members and those of the average worker.

Chief executive Ross McEwan is reported to receive a pension of £350,000 which amounts to 35% of his £1 million basic salary, but those working in branches typically receive just 10%.

The Investment Association, which oversees £7.7 trillion in assets, and shareholder society ShareSoc are both said to have raised questions over the arrangement.

The IA wants pension payments for existing executives brought below 25%.

READ MORE: Investors urged to block Royal Bank chief's 'excessive' pay

ShareSoc, which is recommending investors vote against the RBS's remuneration report at the Edinburgh AGM on April 26, has also highlighted that finance director Katie Murray receives a 10% pension payment, much lower than Mr McEwan's.

RBS investors have also been urged to vote down the remuneration report by shareholder advisory firm PIRC, over issues regarding Mr McEwan's pay packet.

In the back page lead, Chrysaor has signalled a major vote of confidence in the future potential of the North Sea as it clinched a second major acquisition in the basin in two years.

The private equity backed player is now one of the biggest producers in the area after acquiring the UK business of ConocoPhillips for $2.675 billion (£2.06bn).

In his Friday coluimn, Ian McConnell reckons: AS evidence of the relentless economic damage to Scotland and the rest of the UK from Brexit has kept on piling up this week, providing a whole heap of room for dismay, there was a welcome glimmer of hope.

The hope, of course, is nothing to do with the fantastical, ideological dreams of the arch-Brexiters, with their misconceptions of the UK’s place in today’s world and the country’s future prospects in the wake of their longed-for exit from the European Union.