Buchan set to step down from RBS

17th Jan 2011 12:51

Royal Bank of Scotland non-executive director Colin Buchan intends to leave the board in March after nearly nine years in the role. Buchan, who is a director of Standard Life, is the longest-serving non-executive director on the RBS board having been appointed in June 2002. He was chairman of the remuneration committee until May 2010. Former JP Morgan executive Joe McHale will be the only non-executive director left who was appointed before October 2008. He joined the RBS board in 2004. The FSA's report into the regulatory and management failures of RBS prior to its bail out by the government in 2009 will be published at around the time that Buchan leaves. News of Buchan's departure comes at a time when PricewaterhouseCoopers has published research that shows that the average non-executive director of a FTSE 100 company is spending more time on their role. The number of days per year spent on a non-executive role has risen from 20 days in 2009 to 24 days last year. A majority of the non-executive directors expect to spend even more time on the role this year. They reckon they might even have to spend up to five days more in 2011. Increasing regulatory requirements and the pressure of tough economic conditions have combined to demand more time from non-executive directors. This could make it difficult for people who run businesses to find the time to be non-executive directors of other companies that can benefit from their expertise. Unsurprisingly, the non-executives reckon they are not paid enough but the majority do not expect to get a pay rise this year. The median pay rise last year was 11%.