Royal Bank of Scotland, the UK bank bailed out by the UK government in 2008, last year awarded its highest-paid executive a base salary of £1.8m, 12.5 times more than the UK's Prime Minister and six times more than the country's highest-paid civil servant. The banker is understood to be Ellen Alemany, chief executive of RBS's Citizens arm and head of its Americas business.

The total pay package Alemany is understood to have earned amounts to £5.9m, nearly double the package for group chief executive Stephen Hester.