ABN AMRO bankers threaten bonus row with RBS: paper
The head office of ABN AMRO bank is seen in Amsterdam, May 29, 2007. Top bankers at ABN AMRO NV are threatening a fight with Royal Bank of Scotland over 750 million euros ($1.11 billion) of bonuses they want paid out, a newspaper reported on Monday.
Credit: Reuters/Koen van Weel
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Top bankers at ABN AMRO NV AAH.ASABN.N are threatening a fight with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) over 750 million euros ($1.11 billion) of bonuses they want paid out, a newspaper reported on Monday.
"If we don't get the money I expect a revolt," Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad cited an unnamed ABN banker as saying.
ABN AMRO has been bought by a consortium led by RBS along with Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) and Belgian-Dutch Fortis (FOR.BR) for 70 billion euros.
The ABN bankers, most of whom will move to RBS under the takeover while some will go to Fortis, want the loyalty bonuses they had been due if they stayed with ABN for three years to be paid in cash as soon as possible.
But the newspaper said such a payout would be a big problem for RBS as ABN has not accounted for the bonuses in its balance sheet, instead taking them as costs spread over four years.
The paper quoted a RBS spokesman as saying the bank had not yet decided how to deal with the bonuses but said employee rights would be respected.
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by David Cowell)
