Kiwi chief of Scottish bank turns down £1m share award

NZ-born Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan - pictured here in 2006 - has turned down a share award worth £1m.

Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan has turned down a share award worth £1m (NZ$2m).

McEwan, 57, a Massey University graduate from Hamilton, said in a statement to the BBC that he didn't want the allowance "to be a distraction from the task of building a great bank".

"Ross McEwan has told the RBS board he does not intend to take the proceeds from his 2015 role based allowance," the statement read.

"Ross does not want this issue to be a distraction from the task of building a great bank for customers and shareholders."

McEwan's pay this year for 2015 is expected to top £2.7m even after turning down the share award.

The bank received a £46 billion ($94.5 billion) government bailout in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis.

Before heading to the UK, McEwan was one of the youngest chief executives in New Zealand.

He ran local operations of French insurance company Axa and held personnel-type positions at Unilever, Dunlop and National Mutual.