Taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland chief declines share award amid losses

Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Ross McEwan says he won't accept a 1 million pound ($1.6 million) share award amid continuing losses at the taxpayer-owned bank.

RBS, bailed out by the British government in 2008, on Thursday reported a net loss of 3.5 billion pounds for last year, compared with 9 billion pounds in 2013. The results include a 4 billion pound write-down on Citizens Bank, which RBS plans to shed by the end of 2016.

The bank says operating profit, excluding the Citizens charge and expenses for past legal issues, was 3.5 billion pounds compared with a loss of 7.5 billion pounds in 2013.

McEwan says "underneath all the noise of conduct, litigation and restructuring charges, we have strong performing customer businesses that are geared towards delivering sustainable returns."