Shares in British banks fell on the FTSE 100 after RBS said it would be awarding bonuses to staff based on their handling of risk, rather than on profit alone.
In its annual report RBS said that directors could receive up to 400 per cent of their annual salary in shares if they can fulfil a stringent set of criteria.
By 11:08 shares in RBS were down 2.71 per cent to 42.37 pence per share, Lloyds Banking Group shares fell 1.78 per cent to 56.36 pence per share, Barclays shares dropped 1.26 per cent to 354.87 pence per share and shares in HSBC fell 1.27 per cent to 684.00 pence per share.