LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) Chief ExecutiveFred Goodwin said Wednesday he opposes the payment of personal financialinducements to ABN Amro Holding NV (ABN) board or supervisory board members asan inducement to gain their support for the EUR67.5 billion takeover of the bankby Barclays PLC (BCS).
In a statement obtained by Dow Jones Newswires, Goodwin said ahead of ameeting with the Dutch Central Works Council in connection with its consortium'sopposing EUR71.1 billion offer for ABN Amro that "We would not be in favor ofpersonal, financial inducements to gain support."
The comments follow Dutch reports of a filing this week with the Securitiesand Exchange Commission in the U.S. saying that senior ABN Amro executives,including chairman Arthur Martinez and board member Huibert Boumeester, wouldsee their salaries soar if Barclays was to succeed in its takeover bid.
According to the reports, the SEC documents showed that Martinez's salarywould increase to EUR1.3 million from EUR113,000 a year to fulfill the sameposition, while board member Boumeester's salary will rise to around EUR890,000,representing a 35% raise.
ABN Amro declined to comment on the reports, which appeared in Wednesday'sVolkskrant and in De Telegraaf.
Monday, ABN Amro formally withdrew its recommendation of Barclays' friendlytakeover offer for the bank, though its chief executive Rijkman Groenink saidthe board would continue to support the Barclays bid while engaging with bothparties.
Around 1136 GMT, ABN Amro's shares were down EUR0.59, or 1.7%, at EUR34.81.RBS' shares were down 13 pence, or 2.2%, at 579 pence and Barclays' shares weredown 21 pence, or 3%, at 678 pence.
Company Web sites: www.abnamro.com, www.rbs.com, www.barclays.com
-By Henry E. Teitelbaum, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 (0)20 7842 9486;henry.teitelbaum®dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 08-01-07 0719ET Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
