Taxpayer loss on NatWest as ex-boss gets £600k pension

Fred Goodwin, the disgraced ex-boss of Royal Bank of Scotland, is estimated to be receiving an annual pension worth nearly £600,000 as the government prepares to declare a £10bn loss after selling its final stake in the bank as early as this week.

- Kalyeena Makortoff

The banking group, now known as NatWest, is expected to return to full private ownership within days, drawing a line under a £45bn state bailout that saved the bank from the brink of collapse at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

The 17-year effort to offload the government's 84% stake in the lender has come at a substantial cost to the public purse, with the government expected to fall short of recouping its financial support.

Shares have only recently pushed past their pre-financial crisis levels - closing at 524p on Friday - but the bulk of the government's shares have been sold below the 500p at which they were bought. That means the government could end up recovering roughly £35bn of the original £45bn spent on the rescue package in 2008, marking a near-£10bn loss, according to estimates.

Meanwhile, yearly payouts have soared for Goodwin, the boss blamed for helping push the bank to its near-collapse.