Sutherland among 7 directors resigning from RBS board

Peter Sutherland, a former EU commissioner and attorney general, was one of seven non-executive directors who resigned from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) board today.

A reduction in the size of the RBS board had been expected since the British government took a 70 per cent stake in the lender, which owns Ulster Bank and First Active in the Republic.

Mr Sutherland is chairman of energy giant BP, a role from which he is due to retire in June, and is also chairman of Goldman Sachs International.

He has served on the RBS board for eight years and as a result was not due for re-election for another three-year term as nine years is the maximum allowable period for board membership.

Although announced today, the decision by the seven directors that they would retire was taken at an RBS board meeting last Tuesday.

The boardroom shake-up comes just three days after Philip Hampton replaced Tom McKillop as RBS chairman.

The RBS board has faced criticism for allowing former chief executive Fred Goodwin to make too many acquisitions and pursue a risky strategy.

Britain's government has had to inject £20 billion (€23 billion) into the bank which is set to report a 2008 loss of up to £28 billion, a record for a UK company.

The retirements clear the way for the appointment of three new non-executives as part of conditions attached to government bail-out.

Aside from Mr Sutherland the other non-executive directors who resigned are; Bob Scott, the senior non-executive of RBS and chairman of publisher Yell, Jim Currie, Bill Friedrich, Bud Koch, Janis Kong and former Treasury official Steve Robson.

The board keeps its three executives, including new chief executive Stephen Hester, finance director Guy Whittaker and Gordon Pell, head of regional markets.

There are five remaining non-executive directors in addition to Mr Hampton, who said now was the right time to cut the board's size as several directors were completing two or more terms or had asked to retire.

Mr Whittaker and Mr Pell are the only executives left from Mr Goodwin's regime.

Additional reporting Reuters