Execs at Dutch bank ABN Amro give up pay rises after uproar

Dutch state-owned bank ABN Amro on Sunday said its board members had spurned a 100,000-euro pay rise following public outrage.
"The six members of the ABN Amro managing board have renounced the 100,000-euro ($108,000) allowance paid to them for 2014 as partial compensation for the loss of variable remuneration," the bank said in a statement.
The Dutch government on Friday delayed a decision to sell the bank after the pay hikes, aimed at offsetting a 2012 law curbing bonuses, were announced.
Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the move sent out a "wrong signal" at a time of hardship for the average Dutch citizen.
ABN AMRO said the executives' decision to spurn the pay hike was aimed at placating the public.
"Now that our remuneration is the subject of discussion and threatens to affect the future of ABN Amro, we are putting the interests of the bank and the public first –- as we always do –- and have decided to renounce the allowance. We hope this will bring the bank in calmer waters," it said.
"We understand and regret the turbulence that has arisen. The turbulence is detrimental to our clients, our employees and the public's trust in ABN AMRO."
The Dutch government bought ABN Amro in October 2008 after the banking crisis in a bailout worth 16.8 billion euros.
It hopes to recover some 22 billion euros with the bank's eventual sale, although Dutch media have put the amount of state aid pumped into the banking giant at over 30 billion euros.
ABN Amro is the country's third-largest bank after ING and Rabobank and traces its roots back to the 19th century.