The move by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) last year to cap pensionable pay has resulted in a surprise profit for it of £2.15 billion and a loss of
£34,000 each for its employees.

In August last year the bank changed the terms of its pension scheme, expecting to save £500 million.

However, rising inflation expectations mean that RBS claimed a much bigger profit and thus cut its operating losses severely from £8.3 billion for 2008 to £1.9 billion in 2009.

An RBS statement said: "The rising cost of pension provision has been an issue for RBS as it has for all companies. Only one third of our staff are members of the UK defined benefit pension scheme, which was closed to new members in 2006."

The statement added that it was necessary to change the scheme as it was expensive for its shareholders to fund, but added that its board gave the decision much consideration.