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NatWest Group is to hand its chief executive a potential multimillion pound pay boost as it returns to full private ownership after nearly 17 years in state hands.
Sky News has learnt that the chair of the bank’s remuneration committee, Lena Wilson, is consulting leading institutional shareholders about an overhaul of its boardroom pay policy.
The details will be put to a vote at NatWest’s annual meeting next spring, in accordance with rules requiring investors to vote on remuneration policies every three years.
Under the plans, Paul Thwaite, who took over as the bank’s interim chief executive in July 2023 before being handed the role on a permanent basis in February, would be in line for an increase in his maximum annual bonus from 100pc of his base salary to 150%.
NatWest also intends to replace its restricted share plan (RSP) for Mr Thwaite, which awarded him stock worth a maximum of 150% of his salary, with a performance share plan (PSP) which could pay him up to three times his basic pay each year.
Assuming his salary of just under £1.2m remains unchanged, that would mean him being in line for a maximum reward package – excluding pension contributions and other items – of about £6.6m, up from roughly £4.2m today.
Last year, he was awarded a total package of just over £2.4m.
The prospective increase would bring Mr Thwaite’s compensation more closely into line with peers including Charlie Nunn at Lloyds Banking Group and CS Venkatakrishnan at Barclays.
“CEO target pay will continue to remain lower than UK banking peers and is positioned around the FTSE-50 mid-market level,” Ms Wilson wrote in her letter to shareholders.
Mr Thwaite replaced Dame Alison Rose after she was forced to step down over the debanking row involving Nigel Farage, the Reform Party leader.
Leading City investors who have been part of the consultation process are said to be overwhelmingly supportive of the pay overhaul, particularly in the wake of NatWest’s…
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