Northern Rock pays out £15 million in bonuses
Despite the fact that Northern Rock, the nationalised financial operation, reported losses for 2009 the company has confirmed that £14.9 million has been put aside for staff bonuses. This is despite the fact that the company received a £26 billion loan from taxpayers which has yet to be repaid in full and indeed was forced to put aside in excess of £1 billion against potentially "bad loans".
This revelation comes at a bad time for the UK government which has split Northern Rock into a "good bank" and a "bad bank" in the hope of being able to sell off the "good bank" and raise finance for the public purse. Taxpayers are becoming ever more dismayed at the excessive funding which has been channelled into the financial sector in the UK, both directly into Lloyds bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, and indirectly into the liquidity markets. So far UK taxpayers are down literally hundreds of billions of pounds and much of this will never be repaid despite an upturn in fortunes for the sector.
It is bizarre to think that some companies which owe UK taxpayer billions upon billions of pounds are still paying out millions of pounds in bonuses despite disappointing figures and difficult trading conditions.
Share this..
Related stories
Does the UK government have a credible economic plan for the future?
As more and more business leaders step forward to criticise the UK government about proposed tax rises in the short to medium term, as opposed to investment spending cuts, there is concern that the UK authorities do not have a credible economic plan going forward. This is an accusation which has been thrown at the Labour government on a number of occasions over the last few months and has indeed l...
Read MoreBilly Bragg threatens to withhold his UK taxes
Singer, songwriter and political activist Billy Bragg has today threatened to withhold his UK taxes unless the UK government acts to curb the spending plans of Royal Bank of Scotland. There is a suggestion that Royal Bank of Scotland, 84% owned by the UK taxpayer, is ready to pay out £1.5 billion in bonuses this year at a time when UK taxpayers are still feeling the pinch and many are still losin...
Read MoreMinistry for Justice to face £2 billion budget reduction
Ken Clarke, the justice secretary, is tonight facing up to a potential £2 billion reduction in his £9 billion departmental budget. A letter has been leaked to the unions which would indicate that the £2 billion reduction in spending would need to be achieved over the next two years and could result in 15,000 job losses from the department's 80,000 workforce. Aside from the fact there are pot...
Read MoreLord Mandelson attacks postal workers
After the embarrassment of having to rein in the proposed sale of the UK Royal Mail, Lord Mandelson today issued a stinging attack on postal workers who are threatening to strike. This is an issue which has split the Labour Party in two because while many people believe there is a need for significant reorganisation within the Royal Nail, the government appears to be riding roughshod over everybod...
Read MoreDid EU leaders exacerbate the Greek problem?
As the issue regarding the Greek economy, and in particular the Greek budget deficit, continues to grab the headlines around the world there are growing concerns that EU leaders may well have exacerbated the situation due to their vague promises of assistance. At the time it appeared that the EU was in a position to offer significant financial assistance to the Greek authorities but over the last...
Read More