RBS settles $1.2 million bonus fight with former risk chief

LONDON – Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC settled lawsuits with Gary Cottle, the former head of risk at its investment banking division, over a $1.2 million bonus.

RBS said Cottle didn’t deserve the final portion of the 2009 award because he turned down alternative jobs before leaving the Edinburgh-based bank in 2011, according to its London lawsuit that sought to block the payment. The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed by the court or either party.

Cottle argued that he fell out of favor with RBS after raising concerns about a “toxic” debt deal and was never offered a suitable replacement role. The former risk officer, who is now head of global markets for Europe at Nomura Holdings Inc., also sued RBS. Cottle declined to comment on the settlement.

“The parties have resolved their differences,” said Sarah Small, a spokeswoman for RBS. “Neither party will make any further public statement.”

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The lender, which has tried to shed its riskier operations since being bailed out by the U.K. in 2008, remains a target for lawsuits from employees who lost their jobs in the shake-up. Last year, RBS was sued in London by a trader fired for Libor-related misconduct, an employee dismissed after a judge found he’d given misleading evidence to court, and its entire collateralized debt obligation trading desk.

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said in November the government would separate RBS’s toxic assets in an internal “bad bank” as it seeks an exit for its 81 percent stake. The lender has made five consecutive years of annual losses.

The case is: The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc v. Mr. Gary Cottle, case no. 12-1948. High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division.

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