RBS bankers in line for £500 million bonus payout despite SMEs scandal

Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to reward its bankers £500 million in bonuses this year, despite being embroiled in a series of scandals over its lending practices.

The state-backed lender has recently come under fire after government adviser Lawrence Tomlinson accused the bank of pushing viable businesses into default in a bid to generate profits from fees and seize assets on the cheap.

The City of London police and the Serious Fraud Office are currently investigating the allegations but this is not expected to affect the size of the bonus pool for top employees.

The bank has appointed top law firm Clifford Chance to conduct an inquiry into the claims.

RBS, which is 81 per cent taxpayer owned since it was rescued by the government in 2008, awarded its employees more than £600 million in bonuses last year, despite reported losses of £5.2 billion after being hit by fines in relation to the Libor rigging scandal.

The bank is expected to rack up losses of several billion pounds this year.

A spokesman for RBS dismissed the reports as "premature" insisting that a final decision is yet to be made.