I understand that there is a market rate for the job - but I feel strongly that any bonus should be linked to very exacting targets based on publicly available information eg shareholder return,overall company profits,share price etc etc. Its seems to me that these senior executives end up with mysterious bonus schemes which only other Board members are able to monitor.Even more important for a virtually nationalised company like RBS.
I speak from bitter experience of bonus schemes - my former employers told us we wouldn't be receiving our performance bonus one year because the parent company's profits had not grown by the required % - even though my plant "had performed its socks off" by exceeding all our targets. When I read the Annual report for that year I was appalled to see that all the Main Board members had received bonuses!!!!

Stephen Hestor RBS CEO is to receive 3.2 million shares in RBS as a bonus ? These are worth at current prices just below £1 million. This is on top of his salary of £1.2 million and any other perks he receives. According to the Telegraph, he is due to receive up to £7m as a package.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9043010/RBS-chief-Stephen-Hester-in-line-for-7m-payout-despite-bonus-cut.html

As the tax payer owns 83% of RBS, is this fair given the current performance of the banks ? When RBS was part privatised, it cost payers £45 billion to bail them out and I think it will take a long time to get this back.